Sir Malcolm Fraser (1834–17 August 1900) was Surveyor-General in colonial

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 1872 to 1883 and

Agent-General An Agent-General ( or , masculine and feminine respectively) is the representative in cities abroad of the government of a Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province or an States and territories of Australia, Australian state and, h ...

for the colony 1892 to 1898. Malcolm Fraser was born in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England in 1834. Nothing is known of his early life, except that he must have qualified as a surveyor at some stage, and that he emigrated to New Zealand. From 1857 to 1859, Fraser worked as a surveyor in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. He was then district surveyor for the Native Land Purchase Department until 1863; district surveyor for the Canterbury West Gold Fields until 1867; and finally Chief Surveyor for Westland until 1869. In 1870, Fraser emigrated to

to take up the position of that colony's Surveyor-General, which had become vacant on the retirement of John Septimus Roe. Fraser was recruited to the position by then Governor of Western Australia

Frederick Weld Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld (9 May 1823 – 20 July 1891), was an English-born New Zealand politician and colonial administrator of various British colonies and territories located in Oceania and Southeast Asia. He was the sixth Prime Minis ...

, who had formerly been Premier of New Zealand and knew Fraser personally from that time. Fraser commenced as surveyor-general on 19 December 1870. In May 1871 he completely reorganised the Lands and Surveys Department, which resulted in the promotion 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 the dismissal of

Alexander Forrest Alexander Forrest CMG (22 September 1849 – 20 June 1901) was an explorer and surveyor of Western Australia, and later also a member of parliament. As a government surveyor, Forrest explored many areas of remote Western Australia, particula ...

. As surveyor-general, Fraser immediately became a nominated member of Western Australia's

Legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

and

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

Councils. He remained surveyor-general until 5 January 1883, when he was appointed to succeed Edric Gifford as Colonial Secretary of Western Australia. Later that year, Fraser represented Western Australia at the Australasian Convention in Sydney. From June 1886 to June 1887, he was on leave in England, and while there he represented Western Australia at the Colonial and Imperial Exhibition in London. In 1888, he represented the state at the Intercolonial Conference in Sydney. After Frederick Broome's tenure as

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

came to an end in December 1889, Fraser was appointed Administrator of Western Australia until the appointment of the next governor. William Robinson was appointed Governor in October 1890, and one of his first tasks was to institute

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

. Under responsible government, the Executive Council was dissolved, and the office of Colonial Secretary became a ministerial portfolio. Rather than contest a

parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

seat, Fraser decided to retire on his pension. He retired on 28 December 1890, and shortly afterwards set sail for London. In April 1892 he came out of retirement to accept the position of the first Agent General for Western Australia in London, which position he held until 1898. Malcolm Fraser died at Clifton on 17 August 1900. He was survived by his three sons and two daughters. His wife since 1861, Elizabeth née Riddiford, had died four years earlier. Fraser was made CMG in 1881 and KCMG in 1897. Throughout his life Fraser had a reputation for his bad temper, being described as "a man whose intemperate habits had been town gossip for years". In 1881, the Victorian government botanist,

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...

named '' Eremophila fraseri'' in his honour.

General references

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Malcolm 1834 births 1900 deaths Agents-General for Western Australia Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Colonial secretaries of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Gloucestershire Surveyors General of Western Australia New Zealand surveyors 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian public servants British emigrants to Australia