John Richard Arthur Conolly (22 July 1870 – 1 March 1945) was a 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 1897 to 1901, representing the seat of Dundas. He was born in Ireland, lived in Australia from 1884 to 1900, and then spent the rest of his life in South Africa. Conolly was born in

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

, Ireland.John Richard Arthur Conolly
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 2 June 2016. His father was

John Augustus Conolly Lieutenant Colonel John Augustus Conolly Victoria Cross, VC (30 May 1829 – 23 December 1888), born in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the ...

, a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

recipient. He arrived in Australia at a young age, having run away from school, and initially worked as a drover, stockman, and

opal Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...

miner. Conolly came to Western Australia in 1893, during the

gold rushes A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Gr ...

, and worked as a prospector and gold miner in Coolgardie. He later moved on to Norseman and then to Esperanace, and established farms on some of the islands of the

Recherche Archipelago The Archipelago of the Recherche, known locally as the Bay of Isles, is a group of 105 islands, and over 1200 "obstacles to shipping", off the south coast of Western Australia. The islands stretch from east to west and to off-shore encomp ...

. At the 1897 general election, Conolly stood for the newly created seat of Dundas as an opponent of the government of

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister in ...

, and was elected with 40.4 percent of the vote. However, in December 1899, he volunteered to serve in the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

, enlisting in the West Australian Mounted Infantry. He was joined by one other member of parliament, Frank Wallace (the member for Yalgoo)."Local and General"
''The Norseman Times'', 30 December 1899. Although not in the country, Conolly remained an MP until the 1901 state election, when he was replaced by Albert Thomas. He was discharged from the military in March 1901, and remained in South Africa, farming in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

(near Barberton). Conolly eventually retired to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, where he died in March 1945, aged 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conolly, John 1870 births 1945 deaths Australian emigrants to South Africa Australian military personnel of the Second Boer War Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Irish emigrants to South Africa Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Politicians from County Westmeath