John Charles Griffiths Foulkes (22 March 1861 – 4 December 1935) served in both houses of the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia, which constitutes the legislative branch of the state's political system. The parl ...

, as a member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

from 1894 to 1896 and as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1902 to 1911. Foulkes was born in

Llanyblodwel Llanyblodwel is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England; the spelling "Llanyblodwell" was commonly used in the past, and the village was sometimes simply referred to as "Blodwel". The population of the civil parish at the United Kingd ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, England, a small village on the Welsh border. He attended

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

before going on to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, where he graduated in 1884. Foulkes afterward trained as a solicitor, serving his

articles of clerkship Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two ye ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

, Wales. He came to Western Australia in 1890, and set up a law practice in Bunbury.John Charles Griffiths Foulkes
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 27 May 2016. In 1894, he stood for the Legislative Council's South-West Province, and was elected to a two-year term. In December 1895, Foulkes left on a health trip to Europe, intending to return in time to contest his seat at the 1896 Legislative Council elections. However, on the return voyage, his wife was taken ill with

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, forcing them to remain in Italy while she recovered (and him to miss the election and thus lose his seat). After eventually arriving back in Australia, Foulkes moved his law practice to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. He re-entered parliament at the 1902 Claremont by-election, which had been caused by the resignation of the sitting member, William Sayer, and retained it at the 1904 state election. When parliament sat for the first time after the 1904 election, Foulkes was nominated by the government of Walter James (recently reduced to a minority in the assembly) to serve as speaker. The opposing candidate, Mathieson Jacoby, was elected "by a large margin", a result which was said to have marked "the beginning of the end" for the James government."THE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT."
– ''The West Australian'', 29 July 1904. Foulkes remained in parliament until his retirement at the 1911 state election, and in 1913 returned to England. He died in London in December 1935, aged 74. His brother-in-law, Adam Jameson, was also a member of parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foulkes, John 1860s births 1935 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Australian people of Welsh descent English emigrants to colonial Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People educated at Shrewsbury School Lawyers from Shropshire