Aubrey Augustus Michael Coverley (29 September 1895 – 19 March 1953) was an Australian politician who was a
Labor Party member of the
Legislative Assembly of
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
from 1924 until his death, representing the
seat of Kimberley. He served as a minister in the governments of
John Willcock
John Collings Willcock (9 August 1879 – 7 June 1956) was an Australian politician. He was the premier of Western Australia from 1936 to 1945, holding office as state leader of the Western Australian Labor Party, Australian Labor Party (ALP). ...
and
Frank Wise
Frank Joseph Scott Wise AO (30 May 1897 – 29 June 1986) was a Labor Party politician who was the 16th Premier of Western Australia. He took office on 31 July 1945 in the closing stages of the Second World War, following the resignation of ...
.
Early life
Coverley was born in
Bridgetown
Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...
, a small town in Western Australia's
South West region. He enlisted in the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
in 1915, serving with the
10th Light Horse in the
Middle Eastern theatre. He was wounded in April 1917 and discharged from service later in the year. Coverley initially returned to Bridgetown after being repatriated, employed as a post office clerk but in 1919 transferred to
Broome, in the
North West. He moved to
Wyndham the following year, working at the town meatworks.
[Aubrey Augustus Michael Coverley](_blank)
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
Politics and later life
Having joined the Labor Party in 1910, Coverley successfully stood for parliament at the
1924 state election, winning the seat of Kimberley from the
Country Party. At the
1933 election, his margin was narrowed to just 32 votes. The Court of Disputed Returns subsequently declared the result void and ordered a new election, where Coverley was elected with a more comfortable margin. He also increased his majority at the
1936 election.
After the
1939 election, Coverley was made
Minister for the North-West in the
Willcock ministry. He was additionally made
Minister for Forests after the
1943 election, and after John Willcock's resignation in 1945 retained his titles in
the new ministry formed by Frank Wise.
The Labor government was defeated at the
1947 election, although Coverley retained his seat with a comfortable margin. At the following two elections, he was elected unopposed.
Coverley died just over a month after the
1953 election. He had been in poor health, but his death was unexpected.
"A FORMER MINISTER DIES SUDDENLY"
– ''The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'', 20 March 1953. The resulting by-election was won by the Labor candidate, John Rhatigan.
See also
* Willcock Ministry
* Wise Ministry
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Coverley, Aubrey
1895 births
1953 deaths
Australian Army soldiers
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia
Australian military personnel of World War I
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
People from Bridgetown, Western Australia
20th-century Australian politicians