Samuel Richard Lewes Elliott (21 April 1860 – 14 July 1933) was an Australian pastoralist and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

from 1913 to 1914 and for a brief period in 1917, on both occasions representing the seat of Geraldton. Elliott was born in

Penbryn Penbryn () is a small coastal village and community in Ceredigion, Wales, about from Cardigan. History Corbalengi Stone Standing in a field between Penbryn and Tresaith (grid reference SN28905137) is the 6th century Corbalengi Stone. This 1 ...

Cardiganshire Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...

, Wales, to Emeline Maria (née Lloyd) and Thomas Elliott. He arrived in Western Australia in 1875, at the age of 15, and began working on

Theodore Fawcett Theodore Fawcett (10 February 1832 – 21 March 1898) was an early settler in colonial Western Australia, and became a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council. Theodore Fawcett was born at Craven Hill, London, England on 10 Februar ...

's estate at Pinjarra. In 1880, Elliott was involved in the formation of the Murray Squatting Company, along with two other future MPs, Alexander Richardson and William Paterson. The company established Yeeda Station, the first station in the Kimberley, and later took over

Mardie Station Mardie Station is a pastoral lease and sheep then cattle station that was established in 1866 in the Pilbara region of Western Australia near the mouth of the Fortescue River. The leasee in 2012 was Fourseasons Corporation; Mardie is operati ...

(in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a gl ...

). Elliott eventually acquired several leases in his own name, including Oakabella, Tallering, Wyngangoo, Yandil, and Annean.Samuel Richard Lewes (Lewis) Elliott
Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 26 January 2017. In 1906, he was elected to the Northampton Road Board. A member of the

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

, Elliott entered parliament at the 1913 Geraldton by-election, caused by the death of the sitting

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member, Bronte Dooley. He defeated the Labor candidate,

Edward Heitmann Edward Ernest Heitmann (3 June 1878 – 30 January 1934), was an Australian politician and member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1904 to 1917, then a member of the Australian House of Representatives until 1919. Edward Heit ...

, by just 12 votes, and Heitmann reversed the result at the 1914 state election. However, Heitmann resigned from parliament in March 1917 in order to stand for the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, and Elliott reclaimed Geraldton at the resulting by-election. His second term in parliament lasted only five months, as he was beaten by

John Willcock John Collings Willcock (9 August 1879 – 7 June 1956) was the 15th Premier of Western Australia, serving from 1936 until 1945. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party. Early life John Willcock was born at Frogmoor (now Frogmore), New S ...

(a future Labor

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 ...

) at the 1917 state election, where the final margin was just 31 votes on the

two-candidate-preferred In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP ...

count. Elliott eventually retired to Buckland Hill, Perth (present-day

Mosman Park Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local gov ...

), serving for a number of years on the Buckland Hill Road Board. He died there in July 1933, aged 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Samuel 1860 births 1933 deaths Australian pastoralists Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from Ceredigion British emigrants to colonial Australia 20th-century Australian politicians