Samuel Mitchell (c. 1838 – 5 July 1912) was an Australian businessman and politician who was a pioneer of the mining industry in

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 ...

. He served in both houses of 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 ...

, as a member of 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 1884 to 1885 and a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1897 to 1901.

Early life and business career

Mitchell was born in

Redruth Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, the son of a mining engineer, and worked in the Cornish tin mines from a young age. From there he was recruited as mine captain for the

Geraldine Lead Mine The State Register of Heritage Places is maintained by the Heritage Council of Western Australia. , 223 places are heritage-listed in the Shire of Northampton, of which 30 are on the State Register of Heritage Places. List The Western Austra ...

, located on the Murchison River near

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, the first commercial mine in the colony. He, his brother James and a party of seven Cornish miners arrived 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 ...

aboard ''Zephyr'' on 13 November 1867. Mitchell later opened the Wheal Ellen and Badra lead mines, near Northampton, and in 1872 was elected to the Mines Roads Board. He served as chairman of the roads board from 1876 to 1879, and eventually left the mining business, settling down in Northampton as a storekeeper, stock agent and Justice of the Peace.

Politics

In 1884, Mitchell was elected to the Legislative Council, representing the seat of Geraldton. However, he served for less than a year before resigning, having never been sworn in and never attending a council meeting. At the 1897 state election, Mitchell was returned to parliament as a member of the Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Murchison. 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 ...

at the 1901 election, and was also defeated by Nanson in a

ministerial by-election From 1708 to 1926, Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of parliament (MPs) of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of Great Britain (and later the United Kingdom) automatically vacated their seats when made Mi ...

later in the year. At the 1904 state election, both Mitchell and Nanson contested the seat of Greenough, which was adjacent to Murchison but considered more winnable. Mitchell placed third with 21.9 percent of the vote, behind Nanson (35.0 percent) and the sitting member,

Patrick Stone Patrick Stone (14 March 1854 – 23 December 1926) was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1901 to 1904, and from 1905 to 1908. Born in Buncrana in Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland, on 14 March 1854, Patrick Stone w ...

(25.6 percent).Greenough (1,151)
'' The Western Mail'', 2 July 1904.

Later years

Mitchell published an autobiography in 1911 (''Looking Backwards: Reminiscences of Forty-Two Years''), and died at his home, Chiverton House, Northampton in July 1912. He had married twice, both to Cornishwomen, and had 21 children – ten by his first wife, and eleven by his second. One of his grandsons was Sir

David Brand Sir David Brand Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving premier of Western Australia, in office from 1959 to 1971, and was state leader of the Liberal Pa ...

, who became 19th Premier of Western Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Samuel 1830s births 1912 deaths Australian miners Australian people of Cornish descent British emigrants to Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Northampton, Western Australia Western Australian local councillors