Sir Henry Lefroy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 11th Premier of Western Australia | |
| In office 28 June 1917 – 17 April 1919 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Governor | SirWilliam Ellison-Macartney |
| Preceded by | Frank Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Hal Colebatch |
| Member of theLegislative Assembly ofWestern Australia | |
| In office 2 August 1892 – 24 April 1901 | |
| Preceded by | George Randell |
| Succeeded by | Michael O'Connor |
| Constituency | Moore |
| In office 3 October 1911 – 12 March 1921 | |
| Preceded by | None(seat recreated) |
| Succeeded by | James Denton |
| Constituency | Moore |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1854-03-24)24 March 1854 Perth, Western Australia |
| Died | 19 March 1930(1930-03-19) (aged 75) Walebing,Western Australia |
| Political party | Nationalist |
Sir Henry Bruce LefroyKCMG (24 March 1854 – 19 March 1930) was the eleventhPremier of Western Australia.[1]
Lefroy was born inPerth, Western Australia on 24 March 1854. His father wasAnthony O'Grady Lefroy, Colonial Treasurer ofWestern Australia for over 30 years. Educated initially at Mrs McKnight's School in Perth; later he travelled toEngland, where he continued his studies at the Preparatory School atExmouth, then atElstree and finally atRugby from 1868 to 1872. In 1893 Lefroy returned toWestern Australia to take over management of his father's farm atWalebing, which he inherited upon his father's death in 1897. Lefroy was a member of theVictoria Plains Road Board from 1872 until 1899, and its chairman from 1876 to 1897. In 1874 he was appointed aJustice of the Peace, and he was for a time a member of the local Board of Education. He married Rose Agnes Wittenoom in Perth on 15 April 1880, and they had three sons and a daughter.
On 2 August 1892, Lefroy was elected to theWestern Australian Legislative Assemblyseat of Moore in aby-election. On 12 May 1897, he was appointed Minister for Education inJohn Forrest'sgovernment. He held this portfolio until 28 April 1898, when he instead became Minister for Mines. He did not contest the election of 24 April 1901, and so ceased to be a minister whenparliament reconvened on 27 May.
From July 1901 until 1904, Lefroy wasAgent-General for Western Australia inLondon. During his time in London, his first wife died on 17 April 1902. In 1903, he was appointedCMG, and on 23 November 1904, he married Madeleine Emily Stewart Walford in London. He had two sons and a daughter by his second wife.
After returning to Western Australia, Lefroy unsuccessfully contested theMetropolitan-Suburban Province in theWestern Australian Legislative Council. He was again a member of the Victoria Plains Road Board from 1906 to 1909, and was then chairman of theMoora Roads Board from 1909 until 1917.
On 3 October 1911, Lefroy was again elected to the Legislative Assembly seat of Moore, after a hiatus of over ten years. In 1915, he replacedJames Mitchell as deputy of theLiberal Party. He was appointed Minister for Lands and Agriculture inFrank Wilson's second government on 27 July 1916. Wilson's government had difficulty maintaining parliamentary support, and was put under pressure to try to repeat the success at federal level ofPrime MinisterBilly Hughes in forming aNationalist Party. A Nationalist Party was formed in May 1917, but the party voted to reconstruct the ministry bycaucus election. Recognising that the intention was to oust the present ministry, Wilson and three of his ministers walked out of the meeting. Lefroy remained, and was elected leader of the party. Wilson then had no choice but to resign as premier, and Lefroy becamePremier of Western Australia on 28 June 1917.
Lefroy's entire ministry was elected by the whole parliamentary party, and it remains the only non-Labor government of Western Australia to be chosen in this way. It was an ill-assorted group, and consequently Lefroy's premiership was marked by infighting, factionalism and a lack of discipline. On one occasion aRoyal Commission was announced without Lefroy's knowledge; and on another occasion the acting treasurerRobert Robinson accepted amendments to treasurerJames Gardiner's budget against the wishes of other cabinet ministers. Lefroy was challenged for the leadership on 9 April 1919, and needed his own casting vote to survive because a number of his ministers declined to vote. WhenMacCallum Smith leaked this embarrassing information to the press, Lefroy resigned as premier and leader of the Nationalist Party on 17 April, andHal Colebatch was elected in his place. Lefroy continued as member for Moore but was defeated at the general elections of 12 March 1921. He spent his remaining years at Walebing, dying there on 19 March 1930.
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| Preceded by | Premier of Western Australia 1917 – 1919 | Succeeded by |
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