Lancel Victor de Hamel (10 September 1849 – 25 November 1894) was a publisher, solicitor and politician who represented the people of Albany in the Great Southern region 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 ...

Early life

De Hamel was born on 10 September 1849 in London. His father, Felix John de Hamel, was a solicitor in Stoke Newington, London. Lancel followed in his footsteps and after completing his training worked as a solicitor for the Board of Trade, at Newcastle upon Tyne. He was actively involved in local politics as a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and a captain of the 3rd Volunteer Battalion of the

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and ...

. He married Marion Eugenie de Manuel Hammond in 1877 in Northumberland and in the 1880s de Hamel embarked on an unsuccessful expedition to find buried treasure on a

pacific island The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

Western Australia

De Hamel emigrated to Albany in 1886 for health reasons. In 1888 he established the ''Australian Advertiser'', which later became the ''

Albany Advertiser The ''Albany Advertiser'', also published as the ''Australian Advertiser'' and the ''Albany Advertiser and Plantagenet and Denmark Post'', is a biweekly English language newspaper published for Albany and the Great Southern region in Western ...

''. Using the popularity of the newspaper he was elected Mayor of Albany later the same year. De Hamel was a member of 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 ...

from 1889 to 1890; in 1890 he was elected as the member of

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

seat of Albany in the state's first parliament and remained in the position until 1894. He contested the seat of Yilgarn in 1894 but was defeated by Charles John Moran. De Hamel opposed 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 well known for his many fiery exchanges with Forrest in parliament. In 1893 he became the leader of the few diverse elements that made up the opposition. In 1892 de Hamel also started a law firm in partnership with James Montgomery Speed, with offices in

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 ...

. De Hamel died in Coolgardie of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

on 25 November 1894. He was buried in the Coolgardie Cemetery.

Legacy

The ''Albany Advertiser'', first published by de Hamel in 1888 as the ''Australian Advertiser'', is still in circulation. The paper is the oldest continuous-running non-metropolitan newspaper in Western Australia. A bronze plaque to honour de Hamel was unveiled in 1978; it is found on the side of the

Albany Town Hall Albany City Hall is the seat of government of the City (New York), city of Albany, New York, United States. It houses the office of the Mayor of Albany, New York, mayor, the City council, Common Council chamber, the city and traffic court, traf ...

. The townsite of Hamel is named after him. The land the townsite occupies once belonged to de Hamel, who acquired it in the 1890s when it was opened up for settlement. The land was granted back to the government after his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Hamel, Lancel Victor 1849 births 1894 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly 19th-century Australian politicians Mayors of Albany, Western Australia Deaths from typhoid fever Settlers of Western Australia

Early life

Western Australia

Legacy

See also

References