Matthew Lewis Moss KC (1 December 1863 – 28 February 1946) was a lawyer and politician who served in the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia, which constitutes the legislative branch of the state's political system. The parl ...

on three separate occasions – in the Legislative Assembly from 1895 to 1897, and in the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

from 1900 to 1901 and again from 1902 to 1914. He was a minister in the governments of

Alf Morgans Alfred Edward Morgans (17 February 1850 – 10 August 1933) was the fourth Premier of Western Australia, serving for just over a month, from 21 November to 23 December 1901. Born in Wales, Morgans trained as an engineer, and supervised mining ...

(1901),

Walter James Walter James may also refer to: * Walter James (actor) (1882–1946), American film actor * Walter James (Australian politician) (1863–1943), Australian politician and the fifth Premier of Western Australia * Walter James, 1st Baron Northbourne ...

(1902–1904), and

Hector Rason Sir Cornthwaite Hector William James Rason (18 June 1858 – 15 March 1927), better known as Hector Rason, was the seventh Premier of Western Australia. Early life Rason was born in Cleeve, Somerset, in England on 18 June 1858. He was the son ...

(1905–1906). Moss was born in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and arrived in Western Australia in 1891. He left for England in 1914 and spent the rest of his life there, although he maintained connections with Australia, on two occasions acting as

Agent-General for Western Australia An Agent-General ( or , masculine and feminine respectively) is the representative in cities abroad of the government of a Canadian province or an Australian state and, historically, also of a British colony in Jamaica, Nigeria, Canada, Malta, ...

Early life

Moss was born to a Jewish family in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, where his father, formerly resident in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, was a music teacher and choirmaster. His grandfather, also Matthew Moss, had been choirmaster at the

Great Synagogue of London The Great Synagogue of London was a former Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Judaism, Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the City of London, England, in the United Kingdom. The synagogue was, for centuries, the centre of Ashkenazi life in Lo ...

. Educated in New Zealand, Moss served his articles with his uncle, Joel Barnett Lewis, before being admitted to the bar in 1886. After several years at

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

, Moss arrived in Western Australia in 1891, practising first at

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

and later 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 ...

. From 1904, his partner was

John Dwyer John Dwyer may refer to: * John Dwyer (Australian judge) (1879–1966), Australian judge * John Dwyer (baseball) (active 1882), American baseball player * John Dwyer (field hockey) (born 1928), Australian Olympic hockey player * John Dwyer (medici ...

, a future

Chief Justice of Western Australia The Chief Justice of Western Australia is the most senior judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Western Australia. The chief justice is both the judicial head of the Sup ...

Parliamentary career

Moss first stood for parliament at the 1894 election, where he placed last of three candidates in the seat of North Fremantle, with 26.50% of the vote. However, the sitting member,

William Pearse William James Pearse (; 15 November 1881 – 4 May 1916) was an Irish republican executed for his part in the Easter Rising. He was a younger brother of Patrick Pearse, a leader of the rising. Background Willie Pearse was born in Dublin and th ...

, resigned his seat the following year to travel to England, and Moss was elected at the resulting by-election. He attempted to transfer to the new seat of East Fremantle at the 1897 election, but was defeated by

Joseph Holmes Joseph or Joe Holmes may refer to: * Joseph Holmes (New Jersey politician) (1736–1809), American politician * Joseph Erskine Holmes (born 1940), Northern Irish politician * Joseph John Holmes (1866–1942), Australian politician * Joseph Warren ...

by a margin of six votes. After losing his seat in parliament, Moss stood in the elections for the new East Fremantle Municipality, and was elected the inaugural mayor of East Fremantle.Black, David, and Bolton, Geoffrey (1990).
Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia: Volume One (1870–1930)
'', p. 146. He held that position until May 1900, when he defeated

Daniel Keen Congdon Daniel Keen Congdon (August 1836 17 January 1907) was the mayor of the Municipality of Fremantle in Western Australia from 1886 to 1888. Biography Daniel Keen Congdon was born in August 1836 in Chatham, Kent to William John (18011865) and Sar ...

to become one of the three MLCs for West Province. When first Leake government fell in November 1901,

nominated Moss to fill the role of Colonial Secretary in his new ministry. Under the state constitution at the time, newly appointed ministers were required to resign and recontest their seats in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. These were often uncontested, but the outgoing

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

George Leake George Leake (3 December 1856 – 24 June 1902) was the third Premier of Western Australia, serving from May to November 1901 and then again from December 1901 to his death. Leake was born in Perth, into a prominent local family. Studying la ...

, organised opposing candidates in each seat. Moss and two other ministers, Frank Wilson and Frederick Moorhead, were defeated, with the second Leake government consequently sworn in a few weeks later. Moss's time out of parliament was short, however – he nominated for the vacancy in West Province left by the retirement of

Alfred Kidson Alfred Bowman Kidson (23 October 1863 – 23 May 1937) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and public servant. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1895 to 1902, representing West Province. Early life and edu ...

, and was elected uncontested, being sworn in in May 1902. George Leake died in June 1902, and Moss was back in favour in the new ministry led by

, becoming (along with

John Nanson John Leighton Nanson (22 September 1863 – 29 February 1916) was a journalist and politician in Western Australia. A former writer and sub-editor with ''The West Australian'', he served in the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 190 ...

) a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

. This situation persisted until the defeat of James's government in parliament after the 1904 state election, after which

Henry Daglish Henry Daglish (18 November 1866 – 16 August 1920) was an Australian politician who was the sixth premier of Western Australia and the first from the Labor Party, serving from 10 August 1904 to 25 August 1905. Daglish was born in Ballarat, V ...

was sworn in as Western Australia's first Labour Party premier. The Daglish government collapsed in August 1905, and Moss was again made a minister without portfolio in the new Rason ministry. As a practising lawyer, he had been considered a candidate for the position of

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, but the new premier,

, instead appointed himself as

Minister for Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. Moss's status as a member of the upper house was considered to have weighed against him. Rason was replaced as premier by

Newton Moore Major general (Australia), Major General Sir Newton James Moore, (17 May 1870 – 28 October 1936) was an Australian politician, businessman and army officer. He served as the eighth Premier of Western Australia from 1906 to 1910 and, following ...

less than a year later, and Moss did not retain his position in cabinet. At the 1908 election, he was opposed by a Labour candidate, William Carpenter, but retained his seat. He joined the short-lived

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

upon its creation in 1911, and remained in parliament until 1914, when he left for London.

Later life

Having been appointed

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1906, Moss continued his legal work in England. At various stages he acted as a legal adviser for the state government in Britain. On two occasions he was also acting

. Following the result of the 1933 secession referendum, Moss, a longtime advocate of the withdrawal of Western Australia from the Commonwealth, was made one of four members of the unsuccessful delegation to the British government, along with Sir

Hal Colebatch Sir Harry Pateshall Colebatch (29 March 1872 – 12 February 1953) was a long-serving figure in Western Australian politics. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for nearly 20 years, the twelfth Premier of Western Aus ...

James MacCallum Smith James MacCallum Smith (26 April 1868 – 6 August 1939) was an Australian politician, newspaper proprietor and stock breeder. He lobbied unsuccessfully for many years for the secession of Western Australia from the Federation of Australia. Ea ...

, and Keith Watson. Moss died at a London nursing home in February 1946. Aged 82 at the time of his death, he was the last living person to have served in the Parliament of Western Australia in the 1800s. Moss had married Katherine Lyons in 1895, with whom he had two sons. She had been an inaugural member of the Senate of the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

, and preceded her husband in death, dying in London in 1936.(7 November 1936)
"DEATH OF MRS. M. L. MOSS"
– ''The West Australian'' (Perth).

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Matthew 1863 births 1946 deaths Agents-General for Western Australia Australian barristers Australian King's Counsel Jewish Australian politicians Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly New Zealand Jews New Zealand King's Counsel Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Australian people of English-Jewish descent New Zealand people of English-Jewish descent Lawyers from Dunedin New Zealand emigrants to Australia Ministers for education (Western Australia)