Joseph Francis Allen (6 August 1869 – 23 May 1933) was an Australian politician.

Life

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

to carpenter William Allen and Salome Williams, he came to

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

in 1879 and from 1884 worked as an articled clerk to a

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

architect, subsequently becoming a civil engineer. After moving to

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 ...

in 1894, he married Jean Symington Buntine on 25 September 1900. In 1903 Allen was elected to East Fremantle Municipality, on which he would continue to serve (with a one-year break) until his death. He was mayor from 1909 to 1914. In 1914 he was elected to the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council 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 Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

as a Liberal member. He was Chairman of Committees from 1919 until his defeat in the 1920 election. He continued to be active in what became the Nationalist Party and advocated greater cooperation with the new Country Party; his strident support for electoral pacts led to his resignation as president of the Western Australian Nationalist Party in 1926. He was re-elected mayor of East Fremantle in 1931 but died suddenly in 1933; his body was found in the Swan River, but the coroner ruled no suspicious circumstances. Allen is buried at Fremantle Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Joseph 1869 births 1933 deaths People from Perranzabuloe Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Australian people of Cornish descent British emigrants to Australia Mayors of places in Western Australia Burials at Fremantle Cemetery Architects from Western Australia Australian civil engineers Deaths by drowning in Australia Chairpersons of Committees of the Western Australian Legislative Council Western Australian local councillors