Vernon Hamersley (1871–1946) was an Australian politician. He served the longest term ever as a Member of 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 ...

Biography

Early life

Vernon Hamersley was born in

Guildford, Western Australia Guildford is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, 12 km northeast of the city centre within the City of Swan. Guildford was founded in 1829 as one of the earliest settlements of the Swan River Colony. It is one of only three towns in the ...

. The son of

Samuel Hamersley Samuel Richard Hamersley (1842–1896) was a Western Australian pastoralist, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for six years. Biography Early life Samuel Hamersley was born in Guildford, Western Australia on 12 Octob ...

, he was a member of the prominent and well-connected

Hamersley family The Hamersley family were a wealthy and well-connected family of early settlers in the colony of Western Australia. Members of the Hamersley family emigrated to Western Australia from England in 1837. Prominent members and connections of the fa ...

. His grandfather was Edward Hamersley (Snr); among his uncles was Edward Hamersley (Jnr) and

Maitland Brown Maitland Brown (17 July 18438 July 1905) was an exploration, explorer, politician and pastoralism, pastoralist in colony, colonial Western Australia. He is known as the leader of the La Grange expedition and massacre, which searched for and rec ...

; and he was related by blood or marriage to many prominent Western Australians including

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister in ...

and

William Locke Brockman William Locke Brockman (1802 – 28 November 1872) was an early settler in Western Australia, who became a pastoralist and stock breeder, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council. Biography Born in Kent, England, in 1802, Wi ...

. He was educated at

Guildford Grammar School Guildford Grammar School, informally known as Guildford Grammar, Guildford or GGS, is an Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Mixed-sex education, coeducational Primary school, primary and Secondary school, se ...

, before continuing his studies in England at the

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

School at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and the

Downton Agricultural College Professor John Wrightson FCS, MRAC (1840 – 30 November 1916) was a British agriculturalist and the founder of Downton Agricultural College (1880–1906) at Downton in Wiltshire. In 1890 he reputedly became the first person in Britain to ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Career

He returned to Western Australia in 1889, spending some time on the

Eastern goldfields The Eastern Goldfields is part of the Western Australian Goldfields in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, covering the present and former gold-mining area east of Perth. Extent and name origin The region encompasses the to ...

, before farming with his father at

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

until 1895. On the death of his grandfather in 1874, he inherited the station ''Hasely'' in Toodyay, which he developed as a farm and stud. He also became a part owner of Mount Barnett cattle station in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

. In 1895, he married Clara Hicks. He first became active in public life in 1899, becoming a member of the Toodyay Road Board. He would later become its chairman before retiring his membership in 1906. In 1900 he became a Justice of the Peace, and the following year he unsuccessfully contested the Legislative Assembly seat of Toodyay as an independent. On 5 August 1904, he won 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 ...

seat of East Province 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 ...

following the death of Edward Keane. He would be returned to the seat in the next six elections, holding the seat until his death. He joined 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. For example, while the political systems ...

in 1911. He won the May 1916 election by a single vote. Upon a recount, both Hamersley and his opponent, Michael McCabe of the Country Party, had attained 1,651 votes each, and Hamersley was elected on the

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

of the Returning Officer. McCabe then petitioned the Court of Disputed Returns against Hamersley's election, with the result that the election was declared null and void. Hamersley appealed to the full court, but the appeal was dismissed. A by-election was subsequently held on 2 September 1916, with Hamersley winning re-election on a significantly higher turnout. After 1920, he held his seat for the Country Party, and from April 1921 he was

Father of the House Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously ...

Death

He died in West Perth on 24 October 1946. His term of 42 years, 2 months and 19 days remains the longest ever term as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamersley, Vernon 1871 births 1946 deaths Politicians from Perth, Western Australia People from Toodyay, Western Australia People educated at Guildford Grammar School Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Western Australian local councillors Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia