Samuel Pole Phillips (11 March 181913 June 1901) was a prominent Australian pastoralist and politician. Phillips was born in

Culham Culham is a village and civil parish in a bend of the River Thames, south of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. The parish includes Culham Science Centre and Europa School UK (formerly the European School, Culham, which was the only Accredited Eur ...

in Oxfordshire and was educated for the

Anglican ministry The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglica ...

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

Emigration to Australia

He decided to emigrate to Australia and arrived in Western Australia aboard the ''Montreal'' in 1839.

Business enterprises and public role in Western Australia

He went into business with his relative, Edward Hamersley, and acquired land in the Toodyay Valley, where Phillips built his homestead named Culham. The land was acquired from Alfred Waylen, who had taken up large tracts in the area after it was explored by

Robert Dale Lieutenant Robert Dale (1810–20 July 1853) was the first European explorer to cross the Darling Range in Western Australia. Robert Dale was born in Winchester, England in November 1810, son of Major Thurston Dale and Helen Matthews. Throu ...

then opened up to pastoralists. After developing Culham for 12 years Phillips pioneered the area around the

Irwin River The Irwin River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was named on 9 April 1839 by the explorer George Grey, while on his second disastrous exploration expedition along the Western Australian coast, after his friend Major F ...

and took up , which he stocked with cattle. He was later joined by Hamersley, Burges and Vigors forming a cattle stud business. When the partnership dissolved Phillips' share was composed of an estate and over of leaseholdings. Nominated to join the Legislative Council in June 1857 he later represented the Eastern Districts and remained until his retirement in 1872.

Death and legacy

Phillips died on 13 June 1901 and was buried at the St Philip Church cemetery at Culham near Toodyay. The service was the largest seen in the district at the time. His son, Samuel James Phillips, was also a member of parliament.Samuel James Phillips
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 June 2016. The Phillips River discovered by Phillips' father-in-law,

John Septimus Roe John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, a member of Western Australia's legislative and executive councils for nearly 40 years, but also a participant in ...

, in 1848. Roe named the river after his son-in-law, and Culham Inlet after his estate.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Samuel Pole 1819 births 1901 deaths Australian pastoralists Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Oxfordshire (before 1974) 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople