Colin John Jamieson, AO JP (26 May 1923 – 27 March 1990), was a politician in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. A member of the Labor Party, he served as a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

from 1953 until 1986, as the Minister for Works and Water Supplies in the Tonkin Ministry (1971–1974) and as

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

(1976–1978). Ron Davies succeeded him in the latter role. He was defeated by incumbent Liberal Premier

Sir Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was a Western Australian politician, and the 21st Premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Early life Court's family e ...

at the state election of 1977.

Biography

The son of George Archibald Jamieson, a vineyard employee and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

veteran, and nurse Mona Colvin, Colin Jamieson was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

on 26 May 1923. His grandfather, Archibald ("Scottie"), originated from the

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, was involved in the creation of the Midland Railway Workers Union and was mayor of Midland Junction Municipality in 1914–1915. At age five, Jamieson's mother died of

septicaemia Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

arising from complications from the birth of his brother, and from then on he was looked after by aunts and then by his maternal grandparents. He attended Midland, Victoria Park and Leederville primary schools, and the Junior Technical College in West Perth. Completing his formal education at 15, he worked at the Metropolitan Markets as an assistant fruit and produce merchant, then at a motor body works with the intention of becoming apprenticed, before enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force on 30 July 1942. He was assigned to the 121 Reserve Motor Transport Company with the rank of

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

, transferring to the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

in 1944 as a radar mechanic with the rank of

Leading Aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a junior rank in some air forces. It sits between aircraftman and senior aircraftman, and has a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller. The ra ...

. After discharge in April 1946, Jamieson worked first as a labourer and storeman at the

Midland Railway Workshops The Midland Railway Workshops in Midland, Western Australia, were the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years. History The first railway workshops in Western Australia were located at Fremantle an ...

, and became active in union matters until leaving the company to train as a carpenter and joiner under an ex-serviceman's scheme. On 14 May 1960, he married Emily Margaret Male at the Holy Family Church in

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

, with Ron Davies in attendance as

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...

. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter. Jamieson was heavily involved in community service throughout his life – particularly amateur football whose state organisation he served from 1947 until 1986 as an executive member and later as president, although he was also a keen tennis player. In 1971, he was presented by a Certificate of Merit from the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for his services to amateur football. He also supported several horticultural societies, and was a regular and successful exhibitor of roses,

dahlia Dahlia (, ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. A member of the Asteraceae (former name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its garden relatives thus include the sunflower, ...

s and

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...

s. After his retirement from politics in 1986, he served as chairman of the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board and Fremantle Cemeteries Board. In 1988, he was awarded the Order of Australia for his services to the Western Australian Parliament and the community. He died at St John of God Hospital, Subiaco, on 27 March 1990 after a short illness, and was cremated in

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

. A drive within Fremantle Cemetery and a road within the industrial suburb of

Welshpool Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...

on the former site of the Main Roads depot were named in his honour.

Political career

Jamieson was elected into office at the 1974 state election. He was a member of the Labor Party, which was in Opposition. He was a member of

Tonkin shadow ministry The Tonkin shadow ministry was a Shadow Cabinet led by the Opposition Leader and leader of the Labor Party, John Tonkin, in the Parliament of Western Australia. While serving no formal status—only the Leader and Deputy Leader received remunerat ...

from March 1974 until 15 April 1976. In 1976 Tonkin retired and Jamieson became the State Leader of Labor Party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamieson, Colin 1923 births 1990 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Leaders of the Opposition in Western Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Officers of the Order of Australia Australian people of Scottish descent 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Army personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force airmen Energy Ministers of Western Australia