Michael O'Connor (11 November 1865 – 6 July 1940) was an

Irish-Australian Irish Australians ( ga, Gael-Astrálaigh) are an ethnic group of Australian citizens of Irish descent, which include immigrants from and descendants whose ancestry originates from the island of Ireland. Irish Australians have played a consider ...

Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Following are lists of members 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 s ...

from 1901 to 1904.

Early life

Born in Newcastle (now Toodyay),

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 ...

, on 11 November 1865, Michael O'Connor was the son of

Daniel Connor Daniel Connor (1831–12 January 1898) was an Irish convict transported to the colony in western Australia, who would go on to become one of the wealthiest, and most successful men in the region. Daniel Connor was born in County Kerry, Irela ...

, a former

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

who had become one of the wealthiest men in the

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

. His use of a different surname vis-à-vis that of his father is believed to be an attempt to obscure his convict origins, which was at that time a substantial

social stigma Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an individual or group based on perceived characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of a society. Social stigmas are commonly related to culture, gender, ra ...

. As a youth O'Connor was a prominent

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

and polo player, and was captain of the

Perth Polo Club The Perth Polo Club is a polo club in Guildford, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Location The club is currently located at Kings Meadow on the outer southern side of the historical town of Guildford, on the river flat of the Helena Rive ...

. He was educated privately in Western Australia, then sent for further education in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, where he attended

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist as a Yo ...

of Jesuits in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the ...

, and Trinity College in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. O'Connor attained his medical degrees in 1889, and the following year returned to Western Australia. In 1891 he established a practice in

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

. From 1893 he was the health officer for the metro district; he held the position during Perth's April 1893

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...

. By 1896 he was senior physician at Perth Public Hospital (now

Royal Perth Hospital Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) is a 450-bed adult and teaching hospital located on the northeastern edge of the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. History The hospital traces its history back to the first colonial hospital, whi ...

), and physician and superintendent at the Victoria Hospital in Subiaco. In July of that year he married Beatrice Margaret Mary Forbes; they had four children.

Career

On 11 July 1899, O'Connor contested the seat of East Province in the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

, but was unsuccessful. His decision to enter politics may have been influenced by his sister's husband

Timothy Quinlan Timothy Francis Quinlan KSS (18 February 1861 – 8 July 1927) was an Irish-born Australian politician who represented the electorates of West Perth and Toodyay in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between 1890 and 1894, and 18 ...

, who had been a

since 1890. On 24 April 1901, O'Connor was elected to the Legislative Assembly seat of Moore. He held the seat until the election of 26 June 1904, which he did not contest.

Late life and death

O'Connor was widowed in December 1905. From 1907, he was a consulting physician to Perth Hospital. He also became a member of the hospital board, and was chairman of directors of the

Emu Brewery The Emu Brewery was a brewery in Perth, Western Australia, which traced its history to the first decade of the colony. Founded in 1837 by James Stokes as the Albion Brewery, it was located beside the Swan River on a block bounded by Mounts Bay ...

and Stanley Brewing Company. Little is known of his later life. He died on 6 July 1940, and was buried 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 ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Michael 1865 births 1940 deaths Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People educated at Clongowes Wood College People from Toodyay, Western Australia Colony of Western Australia people