Patrick Stone (14 March 1854 – 23 December 1926) was a Member of the

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 ...

from 1901 to 1904, and from 1905 to 1908. Born in

Buncrana Buncrana ( ; ) is a town in Inishowen in the north of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. The town sits on the eastern shores of Lough Swilly, being northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. I ...

Inishowen Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland. The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfor ...

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, on 14 March 1854, Patrick Stone was the eldest son of army private James Stone and Ann Dorothy née Doherty. His father had served in the British Army in India and Afghanistan and after being wounded there had been invalided back to Britain where he married. When the British government agreed to transport convicts to Western Australia, James elected to become part of the Enrolled

Pensioner Guard The Pensioner Guards were English military personnel who served on convict transportation ships en route to colonial Western Australia between 1850 and 1868, and were given employment and grants of land on arrival. Their initial employment last ...

, guarding the convicts on their voyage to Western Australia. Patrick travelled with his parents and younger brother James on board the convict transport , arriving in Western Australia in April 1856. The Stone's lived in

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 ...

where his father was based until the 1860s when they moved to Greenough where his father had been granted land. Patrick received a brief education at the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

school at Fremantle, before working for his father on the Greenough farm until around 1880. On 8 February 1880, Stone married Helen Emily Roe, daughter of James Elphinstone Roe. He then set himself up as a storekeeper and produce merchant, becoming the town's most prominent and successful merchant over a long period. He also became owner of the Commonwealth Hotel, and was a director of the Geraldton Co-op. Milling Society. Stone was a member of the Greenough Road Board in 1878 and 1879, and between 1888 and 1916 he was a member of the Geraldton Municipal Council in a series of broken stints totalling around 13 years. On 19 June 1894 he contested the

seat of Geraldton but was unsuccessful. He contested the seat again in the

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 ...

of 24 July 1900, but again without success. On 24 April 1901, he won the seat of Greenough, holding it until the election of 28 June 1904, when he was defeated by

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 ...

. The following year Nanson resigned the seat to study law in

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, and Stone won the seat for a second time on 27 October 1905. This time he held it until the election of 11 September 1908, when he was again defeated by Nanson, who had returned to Western Australia that year. Stone continued to contest elections for the rest of his life, contesting a further six elections without success. In 1910 he contested for a Central Province seat in 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 ...

. The following year he contested Geraldton. He contested Central Province in 1914 and 1920, before contesting for a seat in the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

in 1922. In May 1926 he contested for a Central Province seat for a fourth time. He died six months later on 23 December 1926, and was buried in Geraldton Cemetery.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Patrick 1854 births 1926 deaths Western Australian local councillors Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Buncrana Politicians from County Donegal Pensioner Guards Settlers of Western Australia British emigrants to the Colony of Western Australia