100-641: John Arthur Wright (25 November 1841 – 24 February 1920) was an Australian company manager, magistrate, member of the Western Australian Legislative Council , public service head, rail/tramways engineer, railways commissioner, railways contractor and active Freemason . Wright was born in Dover , Kent , England and died in Albany, Western Australia . He married Katherine Wittington and they had three children together, two sons and
200-665: A midshipman saw action in the Napoleonic Wars . Rapid promotion followed and when he was 21 he received his first command, the 28-gun sloop HMS Brazen , and, in the War of 1812 between the US and the UK, seized two prizes. Brazen carried the news of the end of that war to Fort Bowyer and took part in carrying to England the British troops that had captured the fort. On return to
300-423: A daughter. This Australian biography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Western Australian Legislative Council Labor (21) Opposition (9) Liberal (7) National (2) Crossbench (6) Greens ( 1 ) One Nation ( 1 ) Legalise Cannabis ( 1 ) The Western Australian Legislative Council
400-613: A detachment of 25 armed troopers and settlers including Septimus Roe and Thomas Peel that attacked an encampment of 60-80 Pindjarep Aboriginal people. The Pindjarep fled into the bush and were later encircled near a crossing on the Murray River at Pinjarra, Stirling referred to this as the Battle of Pinjarra . Settlers accounts claim between 10 and 80 Aboriginal people died, compared to Aboriginal oral history which claim 150 people died. Stirling remained entirely unsympathetic to
500-492: A further reorganisation occurred in 1950 (following the passage of the Electoral Districts Act 1947 establishing an independent electoral commission). The Constitution Acts Amendment Act (No.2) 1963 , effective from the 1965 state election , abolished the ten existing three-member provinces, replacing them with 15 two-member provinces. One new province was added at the 1977 state election . Some of
600-556: A new settlement and accompanied by the brig Mary Elizabeth . The two ships separated. Mary Elizabeth sailed to Melville Island and on 15 June Success anchored in Palm Bay, on the western side of Croker Island. Stirling quickly established that the island was unsuitable for settlement and sent a boat across to the mainland to explore Raffles Bay . The report being favourable, Stirling looked no further and on 18 June he went ashore with his officers to take possession of Raffles Bay and
700-414: A period on HMS Hercule under the flag of Admiral Sir John Duckworth , Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Squadron . He passed his midshipman tests on 20 January 1805 and shortly afterwards was posted to HMS Prince George , but on 27 June, at the request of his uncle, Rear-Admiral Charles Stirling , he joined his uncle's flagship, the 98-gun HMS Glory . The following month, at age 14, he
800-844: A place on the Council. The initial appointees were the Governor , James Stirling , the Senior Military Officer next in command to the Governor, Frederick Irwin , the Colonial Secretary , Peter Broun , the Surveyor-General , John Septimus Roe , and the Advocate-General , William Mackie . The Legislative Council first met on 7 February 1832. Three years later, an attempt was made to expand
900-657: A port on the west or north coast might be a useful stage for trade with their settlements in the Cape of Good Hope, India and Singapore. However, the French were known to have an intense interest and French ships were exploring the Australian coasts. The British needed to assess further the potential of the region and find out the extent of the French interest without creating a diplomatic incident. For this task, Stirling, with his record of exploration, diplomacy and covert missions,
1000-422: A preliminary reconnaissance up the river in the gig . They sailed about five miles upstream, reaching a wide section which Stirling named Melville Water . Other features were named after Stirling's brother Walter and Lieutenant Preston. During the next day more soundings were taken, and Isle Berthelot and Isle Buache were renamed Carnac Island and Garden Island . Stirling gave the name Cockburn Sound to
1100-469: A report by Clause on the healthiness of the climate. Later events showed that all three reports were over enthusiastic, the party having explored only the strip of soil in the vicinity of the Swan. Frazer was heavily criticised for this later. However, in their defence, both Clause and Frazer were subject to Stirling's intense enthusiasm for the project and may have been unduly influenced by it. Stirling wrote
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#17327824088861200-610: A second report on the Swan River on 31 August. This was addressed to the Admiralty and was shorter, placing more emphasis on naval concerns and the strategic value of the area. Stirling's original mission included a task to carry supplies to Melville Island. However, Darling had received further instructions to investigate the formation of a new settlement on the coast to the east of Melville Island. Accordingly, Success left Sydney on 19 May 1827 carrying an establishment force for
1300-527: A stay of execution, as they were needed again in the West Indies. Spain was losing its grip on the north of South America and rival factions were struggling for power. So close to the West Indies, Britain had an interest in the establishment of secure government on the mainland, but needed to be careful to avoid offending Spain, now an ally. Brazen arrived at Barbados in June 1816 and on 20 July Stirling and
1400-544: Is known as the Pinjarra Massacre ;– and sometimes the Battle of Pinjarra. An uncertain number of Aboriginal men, women and children were killed during this encounter; Stirling reported 15 males killed, John Septimus Roe 15–20, and an unidentified eyewitness 25–30 including 1 woman and several children with probably more floating down with the stream. One of Stirling's party was injured and one
1500-427: Is near the narrows of the Swan River, which would make defending the colony from gunships easy, with just a few cannons." On 21 August 1828, Stirling and his friend the colonial expert Thomas Moody wrote to Under-Secretary Robert Hay to offer to form an association of private capitalists to using their own money settle Australia in fulfilment of the "principles" of William Penn 's settlement of Pennsylvania . Moody
1600-773: 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 Legislative Assembly , the lower house. The two Houses of Parliament sit in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth . Effective on 20 May 2005, for the election of members of the Legislative Council, the state was divided into six electoral regions by community of interest – three metropolitan and three rural – each electing six members to
1700-552: The 2008 state election . After the 2021 state election , in which the Labor Party won a majority in both houses of parliament, the state government formed a commission to explore reform to the Legislative Council electoral system. The committee recommended the abolition of the six electoral regions in favour of a single state-wide electorate and the abolition of group voting tickets , among other changes. The Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Equality) Bill 2021
1800-464: The 2013 state election , both houses of Parliament have had fixed four-year terms, with elections being held every four years on the second Saturday in March, though the term of the Legislative Council not expiring until May after the election. In the current Legislative Council, elected at the 2021 election , Labor has majority control of the chamber—the first time any party gained the majority in
1900-681: The Burke Labor government, with the conditional support of the National Party, introduced the present system of multi-member electorates and a method of proportional representation which is, however, 'weighted' to give extra representation to rural constituents. The legislation was made possible because the Australian Democrats in 1986 negotiated an election preference flow to Labor in return for an explicit undertaking on Legislative Council electoral reform, which resulted in
2000-519: The Royal Navy . His education at Westminster School was interleaved with periods of training on board British warships, and on 14 January 1804, at the age of 12, he entered the navy as a First-Class Volunteer, embarking on the storeship HMS Camel for the West Indies . Thus he began a distinguished career. Stirling trained for midshipman on board HMS Camel and also served for
2100-569: The following election on 6 September 2008. Even with the reforms, rural areas are still significantly overrepresented. According to ABC election analyst Antony Green , the rural weighting is still significant enough that it is all but impossible for a Liberal premier in Western Australia to govern without National support, even if the Liberals win enough Legislative Assembly seats to theoretically allow them to govern alone. In 2021,
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#17327824088862200-463: The "Magnificent Sound between that Island and the Main possessing great attractions for a Sailor in search of a Port". At mid-day on 8 March the exploration party - Stirling, Frazer, Garling, Clause, Lieutenant Belches, Midshipman Heathcote, the ship's clerk Augustus Gilbert, 7 seamen and 4 marines - left Success in the cutter and the gig and sailed to Point Belches . There the boats grounded and, as
2300-585: The 63rd Regiment of Foot, under the command of Major Frederick Irwin , and three years' of army stores, 10,000 bricks and £1,000 to meet all expenses of government. On arrival on 31 May at Garden Island , at what became known as the Swan River Colony , they re-erected a wooden house that had first been assembled at Lieutenant Preston's home in Sutton Green, Surrey , that would become the Governor's home. These pioneers were responsible for laying
2400-654: The Admiralty send a ship-of-war "to proceed to the Western Coast of New Holland and take possession of the whole territory in His Majesty's name." This task was given to HMS Challenger under the command of Captain Charles Fremantle and, a week later, a further order was issued to prepare HMS Sulphur to carry a detachment of troops to the Swan River. On 31 December Murray wrote to Stirling confirming his title as Lieutenant-Governor of
2500-735: The Barbados Harbourmaster were sent to survey the coast of Venezuela and gain intelligence regarding the attitudes of the population and the disposition of the various revolutionary factions. After making his report Stirling went back to patrolling the Caribbean with orders to prevent piracy and the contraband trade. Late in September he seized the Hércules . This action turned out to be unwise. Hércules , not to be confused with Hercule on which Stirling had served in 1804,
2600-632: The Channel Fleet. He started his examinations at Somerset House on 1 August 1809 and on 12 August rejoined Warspite as a full Lieutenant. On 1 April 1810 Stirling was transferred from Warspite to HMS Hibernia under Captain R.D. Dunn and moved with Dunn when the Captain was transferred to HMS Armide in November. A year later, on 20 November 1811, he received a significant elevation to flag lieutenant on HMS Arethusa ,
2700-684: The Colonial Botanist Charles Frazer , the surgeon Frederick Clause and the landscape artist Frederick Garling. The Nyoongar people call the river Derbarl Yerrigan. On 10 January 1697, the Dutch sea captain Willem De Vlamingh renamed it to the Swan River (Zwaanenrivier in Dutch) after the large number of black swans they observed there. One hundred and thirty years later, the British ship Success arrived off
2800-760: The Eastern Station. Stirling was keen to return home to see his family and to further his case for a settlement at the Swan River. However, Gage instructed him to base Success in Trincomalee Harbour, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where he arrived on 4 January 1828. There he succumbed rapidly to the tropical climate and on 21 February three Royal Navy surgeons certified that he was so ill he should return immediately to England. The settlements at Fort Dundas and Fort Wellington rapidly got into difficulties with outbreaks of scurvy and fever, supply shortages and communication failures. The Melville Island outpost
2900-788: The Executive Committee of the Patriots prepared a draft Constitution for the Republic of Venezuela which was given to Stirling for transmission to the West Indies Stations and thence to England. However this draft was subsequently rejected by Bolívar. Another source reports that a secret agreement, between the British and the Republicans, was signed later on board Brazen , in which the British would assist Bolívar in exchange for preferential trading rights when
3000-475: The French corvette L'Astrolabe . L'Astrolabe was on a voyage of exploration, which gave Stirling an opportunity to assess French interest in the region. Stirling and d'Urville dined together several times and Stirling discovered that Astrolabe had a detailed chart of the Swan River . Before leaving England, Stirling had studied the available charts of the west coast of Australia and had concluded that
3100-531: The Legislative Council has traditionally been controlled by a coalition of the Liberal and National parties, and minor parties and independents have been more easily elected. The current composition of the Legislative Council is as follows: Western Australia's first representative parliament was the Legislative Council, first created in 1832 as an appointive body. Initially it consisted only of official members; that is, public officials whose office guaranteed them
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3200-408: The Legislative Council. The 2005 changes continued to maintain the previous malapportionment in favour of rural regions. Legislation was passed in 2021 to abolish these regions and increase the size of the council to 37 seats, all of which will be elected by the state-at-large. The changes will take effect in the 2025 state election . Since 2008, the Legislative Council has had 36 members. Since
3300-524: The Legislative council was changed to consist of 12 elected members and 6 members nominated by the governor. Suffrage was limited to landowners and those with a prescribed level of income. When Western Australia gained responsible government in 1890, a bicameral system was adopted and the Legislative Council became a house of review for legislation passed by the popularly elected Legislative Assembly. This council consisted of 15 members, all nominated by
3400-727: The Nagasaki Magistrate, concluded a Treaty of Friendship with the Japanese. The treaty was endorsed by the British Government, but Stirling was criticised in the popular press for not finding and engaging with the Russian fleet. Stirling was the fifth of eight sons, ninth of the sixteen children, of Andrew Stirling, Esq. of Drumpellier near Coatbridge , North Lanarkshire , Scotland , and his father's second cousin, Anne Stirling. The Glaswegian Stirling family
3500-626: The Napoleonic Wars. Ellen and one year old Andrew remained at home at Woodbridge. One of Stirling's officers was 3rd Lieutenant William Preston, who would marry Ellen's sister Hamilla seven years later. Success arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on 2 September, discharged its passenger, took on provisions and set sail again, arriving at Sydney Heads on 28 November. Captain Jules d'Urville arrived in Sydney Harbour on 2 December on
3600-410: The Republic came into being. In the second half of 1817 Stirling returned once again to patrolling the Caribbean with orders to seize any vessels suspected of piracy, orders which he carried out with alacrity because of the prize money. By June 1818 Brazen was in need of repair and he returned with her to England, where the ship was taken out of commission and Stirling received the dread news that he
3700-673: The Stirlings at Henley Park and had extensive interests in the East Indies , had been High Sheriff for Surrey in 1808 and was a director of the British East India Company . Captain Mangles invited Stirling to visit Woodbridge, where he met for the first time the, then, 13-year-old Ellen Mangles, his future wife. The two families got on well together and the parents were delighted two years later when, according to
3800-819: The Stirlings crossed the South Atlantic for a stay of five months at the Cape of Good Hope and at the end of February 1808 Diadem returned to England via a short period in Rio de Janeiro . On arrival in England in April, Midshipman Stirling was posted to HMS Warspite under Captain Henry Blackwood . At this time he was preparing for his examinations to become a lieutenant, and Blackwood arranged for him to have short stints as Acting Lieutenant on other vessels in
3900-468: The Swan narrowed and there were many obstructions. The next day, the cutter was holed and had to be repaired, after which the party reached a creek which Stirling named Ellen Brook , after his young wife. The Swan was not navigable any further and Stirling and Garling set off on foot for the hills to the east, arriving at about sunset. On their return to camp they lost their way in the dark, but Frazer sent out search parties to guide them back. On 14 March
4000-441: The Swan was a possible site for a harbour and settlement and had hoped to be the first European to explore and chart it. However, d'Urville indicated that the French did not consider that the Swan would be a suitable site for a harbour, because of the difficulty of access and lack of fresh water. This gave Stirling a free hand. A ship arrived from Melville Island on the same day as L'Astrolabe , bringing reassuring news that scurvy
4100-690: The United States of America and Britain, the role assigned to the ships of the Jamaica Station was to attack the US coast and ports on the Gulf of Mexico and to destroy their ships and stores. On 11 July 1812 Brazen weighed anchor on Stirling's first mission, which was to be against New Orleans and the Mississippi delta. However, Brazen was severely damaged by a hurricane and had to abandon
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4200-524: The West Indies, Stirling made two surveys of the Venezuelan coast and reported on the strengths, attitudes and dispositions of the Spanish government and various revolutionary factions, later playing a role in the British negotiations with these groups. In his second command, HMS Success , he carried supplies and coinage to Australia, but with a covert mission to assess other nations' interest in
4300-639: The West Indies, to the Windward Islands Station at Barbados , where Admiral Duckworth was now Commander-in-Chief. There were now two stations in the West Indies, at Barbados and Jamaica, and for a while Brazen shuttled between the two, carrying communications between the two admirals. On one such trip Stirling was introduced to Simón Bolívar , who was in Jamaica following a defeat on the South American mainland. Soon after that he
4400-463: The absence of a legal instrument providing the authority detailed in Stirling's Instructions of 30 December 1828. Stirling had said I believe I am the first Governor who ever formed a settlement without Commission, Laws, Instructions and Salary. With the creation of the Western Australian Legislative Council in 1830, Stirling automatically became an official member. In October 1834 Stirling led
4500-473: The boats with their spears from higher ground. When the boats reached more level terrain, gestures of goodwill defused the situation and the Aboriginals moved on. On 12 March the boats reached a place where a tributary, later named Helena River , joined the Swan from the east. The party also found another fresh water stream, which they named Success , on the west side of the Swan. From this point on,
4600-549: The cautious line taken by the British between the Spanish and the revolutionaries. The Governor of Barbados ordered her release, but, when she had left Barbados, Stirling recaptured her and took her to Antigua as a prize. After long drawn-out proceedings, the High Court of the Admiralty ruled in Brown's favour, but he lost the frigate and her cargo. Stirling continued to receive demands for payment of damages for many years. At
4700-490: The command of Captain Harry Smith , were taken to England on Brazen after surviving a severe gale in the Gulf of Florida. Smith was impressed with Stirling's seamanship and became a long-standing friend. The Treaty of Paris , signed by France, Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia on 20 Nov 1815, ended the Napoleonic Wars and a large fleet was no longer needed. The Admiralty set about decommissioning ships and retiring officers. However, Stirling and Brazen received
4800-416: The condition that the colonies take responsibility for the costs of their own government. Because of this provision, Western Australia was slow to adopt the system. In 1867, the governor responded to public demand for representative government by holding unofficial elections and subsequently nominating each elected person to the council. Three years later, representative government was officially adopted and
4900-485: The council by including four unofficial members to be nominated by the governor. However, the public demand for elected rather than nominated members was so great that implementation of the change was delayed until 1838. In 1850, the British Parliament passed an act, the Australian Constitutions Act 1850 ( 13 & 14 Vict. c. 59), that permitted the Australian colonies to establish legislative councils that were one-third nominated and two-thirds elected, but only under
5000-451: The council was held following the dissolution of parliament in June 1894. This system was retained until 1962 when, over the next two years, the council was reformed, creating a series of two-member electorates. Members were elected for six years with provision for re-election of one every three years. Universal suffrage was also granted in order to bring the council into line with the assembly. This arrangement remained until 10 June 1987 when
5100-408: The court in connection with the Hércules case. The competition for preferment from other officers on half pay was intense, so he was fortunate that on 23 January 1826 he was recommissioned and given command of the newly built HMS Success . In 1826 the western side of Australia was still called New Holland , however the Dutch appeared to have no interest in its development. For the British,
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#17327824088865200-464: The defeat of a number of Liberal councillors who were committed to opposing such reform. Until 2005 the state used a zonally weighted electoral system for both houses of parliament. In effect, this meant that the vote of a Perth voter counted for less than that of a rural voter. The difference was less marked in the Assembly than in the Legislative Council, whose metropolitan regions are numerically weighted so that up to two rural members are elected by
5300-413: The devastation and decay he found in the interior. He described the insurgent "Patriots" as determined and disciplined, but the Loyalists were indisciplined and lazy. Following this, Stirling was given a number of covert missions in connection with Venezuela. The exact orders he received are not known, as the period from January to June 1817 has been removed from Brazen's log in Admiralty files. In May,
5400-427: The dividing line on the ballot paper, or at least 20 candidates below the dividing line. Senate House of Rep. Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Assembly Assembly James Stirling (Royal Navy officer) Admiral Sir James Stirling (28 January 1791 – 22 April 1865)
5500-448: The end of 1816 Stirling was commissioned to make a further detailed inspection of the conditions in Venezuela. From Güiria in the Paria Peninsula he sailed west to Caracas and the port of La Guaira and returned eastward by an inland route, in order to study the conditions in the interior of the country. In February 1817 he submitted a detailed report to the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral John Harvey . In it he blamed Spanish neglect for
5600-495: The etiquette of that era, Stirling formally asked the uncle's permission to propose marriage to his daughter. The permission was granted on the condition that Stirling should not make the proposal until Ellen completed her schooling. The couple were married at Stoke Church, Guildford on 3 September 1823, on Ellen's 16th birthday, and went on a nine-month honeymoon and grand tour . On their return, Ellen gave birth to their first child, Andrew, at Woodbridge on 24 October 1824. During
5700-493: The face of National Party opposition. Effective on 20 May 2005, for the election of members of the Legislative Council, the state was divided into six electoral regions by community of interest, three metropolitan and three rural, each electing six members to the Legislative Council. The regions were defined geographically and functionally, and also included partial requirements for equal numbers of Legislative Assembly districts. However, all previously elected members remained until
5800-481: The flag" and keep an eye on the French. In 1847, he was given command of the 120-gun first rate ship of the line HMS Howe and his first commission was to conduct Her Majesty, the Dowager Queen Adelaide on trips to Lisbon and Madeira and then back to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight . After that, Howe was assigned to the eastern Mediterranean, where she reinforced the squadron led by Vice Admiral Parker using gunboat diplomacy to secure an uneasy peace in
5900-419: The flagship of his uncle, now vice-admiral and commander-in-chief of the Jamaica Station. On 3 March 1812, he was appointed acting commander of the sloop HMS Moselle and three months later, at age 21, he was promoted to the rank of commander. Soon after that he was given command of the 28-gun sloop HMS Brazen , built in 1808, in which he was to serve for six years. In the War of 1812 between
6000-457: The following morning three armed Aboriginal warriors demonstrated their anger at the "invasion" (Stirling's word) of their territory with violent gestures, but eventually retired. During the day, the boats reached the Heirisson Islands and in the channel above them progress was much easier, but still slow, due to the winding of the river. On 11 March the boats passed through a long narrow stretch and encountered more Aboriginal people who threatened
6100-416: The foundations of Perth , Fremantle and the market-town named Guildford that is now a suburb of Perth. Stirling administered the Swan River settlement from June 1829 until 11 August 1832, when he left on an extended visit to England where he was knighted, and again from August 1834 until December 1838. However, he was commissioned as Governor of Western Australia only from 6 February 1832, rectifying
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#17327824088866200-418: The government passed a substantial reform of the council electoral system. Starting with the 2025 general election, all seats will be elected in a statewide electorate. While Perth accounts for 70% of the state's population, only 30% of the state's population is located in towns and small settlements across an area of over 2.6 million square kilometres outside the Perth metropolitan area. However, until 2005,
6300-514: The governor. However, it was provided that once the population of the colony reached 60,000, the Legislative Council would become elective. The colony was expected to take many years to reach a population of 60,000 but the discovery of the eastern goldfields and the consequent gold rush caused that figure to be reached by 1893. The constitution was then amended to make the Legislative Council an elective house of 21 seats, with three members to be elected from each of seven provinces. The first election to
6400-458: The mission and enter the Spanish port of Pensacola to carry out repairs. Despite this, Stirling was able to make a valuable survey of Mobile Bay and the Spanish-held Florida coastline and capture an American ship, which he took back to Jamaica as a prize on 20 November. He had no immediate opportunity to revisit the Gulf of Mexico, as Brazen was ordered to return to England for a maintenance survey. After docking in Sheerness for four months,
6500-424: The needs of Aboriginal people in Western Australia, and never recognised their prior ownership of the land despite the fact that the Buxton Committee of the British House of Commons informed him that this was a mistake for which the new colony would suffer. Stirling mentioned in dispatches that the Aborigines "must gradually disappear" and the "most anxious and judicious measures of the local government [could] prevent
6600-596: The new colony and on the same day his Under-Secretary, Robert Hay, confirmed the appointment of the members of the civil establishment including Colonial Secretary Peter Brown , Surveyor-General John Septimus Roe , Harbourmaster Mark John Currie , naturalist James Drummond , a surgeon, a storekeeper, a cooper, a blacksmith and a boatbuilder. After hectic preparations, on 6 February 1829 these pioneers, with their assistants, families, servants and livestock, departed Plymouth in Parmelia under Captain J H Luscombe out of Spithead in company with Sulphur , carrying 100 men of
6700-450: The new provinces bore the same names as the previous provinces. The Acts Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 1987 , which took effect at the 1989 state election , created six electoral regions to replace the previous electoral provinces. Initially, the South West and North Metropolitan regions each returned seven members, while the other regions each returned five. This arrangement was changed to have each region return six members for
6800-453: The next eighteen months Stirling put forward several ideas to the Admiralty, including a means of assessing compass declinations at sea and a proposal for improving stowage in warships. He was keen to keep his name in front of those in the Admiralty who could post him to active service. He had returned from the grand tour short of funds, his father had died in 1823, the family businesses were not prospering and he himself had to make payments to
6900-406: The party split into three groups. Frazer went east and Belches and Heathcote north. Stirling and Clause went west and discovered a freshwater lagoon, some Aboriginal huts and a fertile region which so pleased Stirling that he named it Henley Park after his Surrey home. The return journey was much quicker, being downstream and through previously charted areas. On arrival at Melville Water, Belches
7000-401: The party was unable to find a channel, the boats were unloaded and dragged across the shallows until nightfall. While this was being done, Stirling, Frazer and Garling climbed the commanding hill on the west bank, which Stirling named Mount Eliza in honour of Eliza Darling , the New South Wales Governor's wife. While there, Garling painted a watercolour landscape view showing the entrance to
7100-401: The region and explore opportunities for British settlements. He is chiefly remembered for his exploration of the Swan River, followed by his eventual success in lobbying the British Government to establish a settlement there. On 30 December 1828, he was made Lieutenant-Governor of the colony-to-be. He formally founded the city of Perth and the port of Fremantle and oversaw the development of
7200-604: The region. Stirling's fifth and final command was as Commander in Chief, China and the East Indies Station, and his flag, as Rear Admiral of the White, was hoisted on HMS Winchester on 11 May 1854. Shortly afterwards news arrived that war had been declared on Russia. Stirling was anxious to prevent Russian ships from sheltering in Japanese ports and menacing allied shipping and, after lengthy negotiations through
7300-512: The river on the opposite side of Melville Water. Stirling later named this Canning River after the British Prime Minister at that time. The next day, dragging across the shallows started at daybreak and continued until nightfall. Frazer, exploring on land, found a freshwater brook and Stirling named the nearby point of land Point Frazer . Frazer also found a lagoon of fresh water and the party moved camp to beside it. On
7400-633: The same number of votes needed to elect a single member from Perth. This style of weighting has not been adopted by any other Australian state. While the Liberal Party and Labor Party were both advantaged and disadvantaged by this system, it strongly benefited the National Party . During the 1990s, Liberal Premier Richard Court considered changing the system along the lines of that in place in South Australia , but backed down in
7500-603: The settlement there, after which the ship returned to New South Wales, anchoring off Sydney Heads on 16 April. Stirling's report to Darling and Frazer's report on the quality of the land were enclosed with Darlings report of 21 April 1827 to the Colonial Office in the United Kingdom. Stirling's report consisted of a diary Narrative of Operations and a section Observations on the Territory , which included
7600-658: The ship escorted a convoy carrying settlers and stores to Hudson Bay . On his return to the Strait of Dover at the end of December 1813, Stirling received confidential orders for an important mission, to carry the Duke of Brunswick to Holland. After that, during most of 1814, Brazen patrolled the Irish Sea and the Hebrides in search of French or American ships until, at the end of the year, Stirling received orders to return to
7700-567: The state used a zonally weighted electoral system for both houses of parliament. In Legislative Council elections, this meant a vote in Perth was worth around 47% of a rural vote. The WA Legislative Council is the last remaining State or Territory chamber in Australia to have a significant rural overweighting. For example, the Mining and Pastoral Region has 16% of the average number of electors in
7800-534: The surrounding area and on 4 March 1831 he was confirmed as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the new territory, Western Australia, in which post he remained until in 1838 he resumed his naval career. In October 1834 Stirling personally led a group of twenty-five police, soldiers and settlers in a punitive expedition against approximately seventy Bindjareb men, women and children camped on the Murray River partly in retaliation for several murders and thefts. This bloody attack involving rifles and bayonets against spears
7900-410: The surrounding territory in His Majesty's name. The establishment force and supplies were landed and Stirling named the settlement Fort Wellington . A month later, believing all to be well, Stirling set sail for Melville island. Success arrived at Fort Dundas on Melville Island on 25 July and set sail again four days later for Madras, and then to Penang , to report to Admiral Gage , Commander of
8000-414: The territory of existing districts. In 1890, following the creation of the Legislative Assembly , the Legislative Council returned to being a completely appointed body, with 15 members. The Constitution Act Amendment Act 1893 was subsequently passed, taking effect in 1894, to provide for seven electoral provinces, each electing three members. Additional provinces were created in 1897 and 1900, and
8100-544: The three metropolitan regions, which on paper gives Mining and Pastoral voters six times the voting power of those in the city of Perth. However, according to Green, the actual bias is greater due to historically lower turnout in the Mining and Pastoral region. The Legislative Council Act 1870 , which took effect the same year, created ten electoral districts for the Legislative Council, electing twelve members in total. Three later acts of parliament (in 1874, 1883, and 1887) established four more electoral districts, created from
8200-786: The ulterior extinction of the race". As recognition of his service in establishing the colony Stirling was granted land near Beverley, Western Australia . This land, along with neighbouring properties was re-acquired by the Western Australian Government, who later subdivided the land into farmlets for returning soldiers. The remaining land was later used to establish the Avondale Agricultural Research Station , which includes Stirling's restored homestead. In 1829 Stirling selected 12,800 acres (52 km ) of land in Harvey and called it
8300-402: The upper house since 1983 . Six members of the Legislative Council are elected from each of the six regions under a proportional and preferential voting system using the single transferable vote method. Each council region overlaps with a varying number of Assembly seats. Because of the proportional representation system in place as well as the malapportionment in favour of rural regions,
8400-410: The west coast of Australia on 5 March 1827 and anchored near the north east corner of Rottnest Island. The following day, the ship moved cautiously towards the coast and anchored about a mile from the mouth of the Swan. Lieutenant Carnac and the ship's Master, Millroy, were left to take soundings and look for channels and possible landing places. Meanwhile, Stirling, Frazer and Lieutenant Preston made
8500-472: Was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. His enthusiasm and persistence persuaded the British Government to establish the Swan River Colony and he became the first Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Western Australia . In 1854, when Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station , Stirling on his own initiative signed Britain's first Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty . Throughout his career Stirling showed considerable diplomatic skill and
8600-452: Was a natural choice. New South Wales was running short of currency and the settlement on Melville Island was short of food and scurvy was rife. A supply mission to these would be excellent cover for intelligence gathering activities. Success sailed on 9 July 1826, carrying cases of coins and a distinguished passenger, Admiral Sir James Saumarez , Knight Companion of the Bath , a hero of
8700-673: Was a tenant at Henley Park in Surrey , and Stirling made use of his enforced leave to visit his parents and other members of his scattered family. He also made several visits to the Continent of Europe. On one such visit to France he met and befriended Captain James Mangles , RN, who was also on half pay. Mangles was returning from a tour of North Africa and Asia Minor and was among the first Europeans to have visited Petra . His uncle had an estate at Woodbridge Park, about ten miles from
8800-587: Was abandoned in November 1828 and the Raffles Bay settlement was broken up in July 1829. On returning to London in 1828, Stirling lobbied the Foreign Office and the Admiralty for support for a settlement in the vicinity of the Swan River, describing it as ideal for a permanent establishment. He emphasised the defensive prospects of Mount Eliza , the large hill on which Kings Park is now situated, "as it
8900-500: Was endorsed by the Tories in Parliament , who had recently commended his report to Parliament on slavery. Moody had previously advised Stirling's relation James Mangles about the settlement of the Swan River Colony at minimal cost to the British Government. Parliament initially rejected the proposal of Stirling and Moody, but rumours of a new French interest in the region provoked Sir George Murray , on 5 November, to request that
9000-507: Was given a mission to carry the news of the Treaty of Ghent , ending the War of 1812, to the British troops under the command of General John Lambert , near New Orleans, and to assist in their return to England. His reconnaissance of Mobile Bay and the coast of Florida three years earlier now stood him in good stead. The troops, who had captured Fort Bowyer , were recovered and some of them, under
9100-486: Was given a new ship, HMS Sampson , and orders to convoy General Samuel Auchmuty and his troops to the Río de la Plata and take over command of the squadron there from Admiral Sir Home Popham on the flagship HMS Diadem . James accompanied his uncle and saw the fall of Montevideo to General Auchmuty's forces and the capture of twenty-five warships and more than 10,000 tons of merchant shipping. In August 1807
9200-485: Was injured and died about two weeks later, although it is uncertain if from existing injuries, injuries suffered during the massacre, poor medical treatment after the massacre, or a combination thereof. An uncertain number of Bindjareb were injured, and an uncertain number died of their injuries. From 1840 to 1844, in command of the 80-gun HMS Indus , he patrolled the Mediterranean with instructions to "show
9300-477: Was made enormously wealthy by the slave trade in Britain, and Stirling's father in law James Mangles was a wealthy Atlantic Ocean slaver . The Stirling family were also well-known and celebrated in the naval annals of the 18th century. His maternal grandfather was Admiral Sir Walter Stirling and his uncle was Admiral Sir Charles Stirling . With such a family background, it was natural for James to enter
9400-535: Was nicknamed Black Frigate and had at one time been the flagship of the Argentine Navy. When taken by Stirling, she was a privateer with 22 guns carrying a valuable cargo plundered from Spanish American cities and ships. She was under the command of William Brown , who had been an admiral in the Argentine Navy and was in command of the revolutionary fleet fighting the Spaniards. Her capture compromised
9500-410: Was passed in November 2021 and established a "one vote, one value" system in the Legislative Council for the first time. The electoral regions were abolished and replaced by a single state-wide electorate of 37 members, while GVTs were replaced by optional preferential voting. The changes will take effect in the 2025 state election . Voters will be required to vote for one or more preferred parties above
9600-461: Was selected for a number of sensitive missions. Paradoxically, this was not reflected in his personal dealings with officialdom and his hopes for preferment received many rebuffs. Stirling also personally led the attack in Western Australia on a group of approximately seventy Bindjareb men, women and children now known as the Pinjarra massacre . Stirling entered the Royal Navy at age 12 and as
9700-661: Was sent to explore the Canning River. The rest of the party returned to Success and spent the next four days surveying the surrounding islands and finding a safe channel into Cockburn Sound. On 21 March Success weighed anchor and three days later arrived at Geographe Bay , in order to carry out Governor Darling's instructions to explore and report on the region. Geographe Bay was named in May 1801 by French explorer Nicolas Baudin. Success then sailed to King George Sound , to pick up Major Edmund Lockyer and unload provisions for
9800-480: Was to be placed on half pay. However, Admiral Harvey had sent the Lords of the Admiralty a letter strongly commending "the zeal and alacrity of this intelligent and excellent officer", which may have influenced their decision to promote him to Post Captain on 7 December 1818. Although at the end of 1817 he was not to know it, Stirling was to be without a command for eight years. Between 1818 and 1822 his father, Andrew,
9900-478: Was to see his first naval action. Glory was in the fleet, commanded by Vice-Admiral Robert Calder , which in July that year engaged against the combined French and Spanish fleets off Cape Finisterre during the Napoleonic Wars . Glory sustained a damaged foremast spar and sails "much torn". After the battle, the Squadron returned to England with two captured Spanish ships as prizes. In July 1806 his uncle
10000-557: Was under control and the settlement was progressing more satisfactorily. The Governor, Major General Ralph Darling , advised Stirling to delay his visit to Melville until later in the year. Stirling then made a report to Darling, setting out detailed arguments for a mission to the Swan River. Darling gave his approval and, on 17 January 1827, Success sailed from Sydney for the Swan, via Hobart in Van Diemen's Land , where several cases of coins were delivered. On board Success were
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