FIRST GOVERNORS AND PREMIERS

This page has gradually expanded to include all Governors and Premiers. Clicking on links for Governors and Premiers will either take you to a bio page or will display a picture. This is in addition to any pop-up notes.

Thank you to the J.S. Battye Library and the Constitutional Centre of Western Australia for the images used in this section.

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Western Australian Governors

James Stirling 1829-1839

John Hutt 1839-1846

Andrew Clarke 1846-1847

F.C. Irwin takes over when Clarke dies 1847-1848
Charles Fitzgerald 1848-1855
Arthur Edward Kennedy 1855-1862
John Hampton 1862-1868

Benjamin Chilley Campbell Pine
Frederick Weld 1869-1875
William Cleaver Francis Robinson 1875-1877
Henry St. George Ord 1877-1880
William Cleaver Francis Robinson 1880-1883
Frederick. N. Broome 1883-1889
William Cleaver Francis Robinson 1890-95

Gerald Smith 1895-1900

Arthur Lawley 1901-1902

Frederick George Denham Bedford 1903-1909

Gerald Strickland 1909-1913

Harry Barron 1913-1917

William Grey Ellison-Macartney

Francis Alexander Newdigate Newdegate 1920-1924

William Robert Campion 1924-1931

No Governor was appointed between 1931 - 1948 James Mitchell held the dual post of Lieutenant-Governor and Administrator.

James Mitchell 1948-1951

Charles Gairdner 1951-1963

Douglas Kendrew 1963-1973

Hughie Idwal Edwards 1974-1975

Wallace Kyle 1975-1980

Richard Trowbridge 1980-1983

Stanley Reid 1984-1989

Francis Theodore Page Burt 1990-1993

Michael Jeffery 1993-2000 (Also Governor General 2003)

John M Sanderson 2000-2005

Ken Michael 2006 - current

Governor Robinson appears to have been a popular choice as Governor (having held the position 3 times) but strangely he does not feature greatly in any historic literature.

Western Australian Premiers

John Forrest 1890-1901

George Throssell 1901
George Leake 1901
Alfred Edward Morgans. 1901
George Leake (again) 1901-1902
Walter Hartwell James 1902-1904
Henry Daglish 1904-1905
Cornthwaite Hector William James Rason 1905-1906
Newton James Moore 1906-1910
Frank Wilson 1910-1911
John Scaddan 1911-1916

Frank Wilson (again) 1916-1917

Henry Bruce Lefroy 1917-1919

Hal Pateshall Colebatch 1919-1919

James Mitchell 1919-1924

Philip Collier 1924-1930

James Mitchell (again) 1930-1933

Phillip Collier (again) 1933-1936

John Collings Willcock 1936-1945

Frank Joseph Scott Wise 1945-1947

Duncan Ross McLarty 1947-1953

Albert Redvers George Hawke 1953-1959

David Brand 1959-1971

John Trezise Tonkin 1971-1974

Charles Walter Michael Court 1974-1982

Raymond James O'Connor 1982-1983

Brian Thomas Burke 1983-1988

Peter McCallum Dowding 1988-1990

Carmen Mary Lawrence 1990-1993

Richard Fairfax Court 1993-2001

Geoffrey Ian Gallop 2001-2005

Alan John Carpenter 2006-2008

Colin James Barnett 2008-Current

First female member of Parliament.

Edith Cowan elected to the seat of West Perth in 1921.

Australia's First Female Premier

The first female Premier was Dr. Carmen Lawrence who showed every sign of being able to move successfully from state politics into the Federal arena and possibly even The Lodge. For a variety of reasons this never eventuated. She resigned from parliament in 2007.

The Administrators

During Governors absences various Administrators, Deputy Governors and Lt. Governors have been appointed to act in a stand in capacity. This often forgotten group of men are remembered below:

F.C. Irwin 1832-3 / 1847-8

Richard Daniell. 1833-4 twice. (Died in office while acting Commandant.)

Picton Beete. 1834

John Bruce. 1862 / 1868-9

Edward Douglas Harvest. 1874 / 1875 / 1877

Henry Thomas Wrenfordsley. 1883

Alexander Campbell Onslow. 1884-5 / 1891-2 / 1895 / 1900-1

Malcolm Fraser. 1889-90

Edward Albert Stone. 1901 / 1902-3 / 1909 / 1913 / 1917

Robert Furse McMillan. 1922 / 1924 / 1929

John Alfred Northmore. 1931-3

John Patrick Dwyer. 1951 / 1956 / 1958-9 / 1963

Albert Asher Wolff. 1968 / 1969 / 1970 twice / 1971 / 1973-4

Lawrence Jackson. 1974

James Maxwell Ramsay. 1974-5

Sovereigns since foundation

Although somewhat remote and increasingly irrelevant these days, the British sovereigns who have reigned since the foundation of Western Australia are:

George 4th. 1820-30

William 4th. 1830-37

Victoria. 1837-1901

Edward 7th. 1901-1910

George 5th. 1910-36

Edward 8th. 1936

George 6th. 1936-1952

Elizabeth 2nd. 1952-current