Sir Walter Kingsmill (10 April 1864 – 15 January 1935) was an Australian politician who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for

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 ...

from 1923 to 1935. He was

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

from 1929 to 1932.

Early life

Kingsmill was born on 10 April 1864 in

Glenelg, South Australia Glenelg is a beach-side suburb of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Located on the shore of Holdfast Bay in Gulf St Vincent, it has become a tourist destination due to its beach and many attractions, home to several hotels and dozens of ...

. He was the son of Jane Elizabeth (née Haslam) and Walter Kingsmill; his father was a pastoralist. Kingsmill attended

St Peter's College, Adelaide St Peter's College (officially The Anglican Church of Australia Collegiate School of Saint Peter, but commonly known as Saints) is an Private school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Primary school, primary and Secondary school ...

. He graduated

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

in 1883 and subsequently joined the Geological Department of South Australia. In 1886 he left the public service to work as a

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ra ...

, spending time on the Teetulpa and Mannahill goldfields and in the Barrier Ranges of New South Wales. In 1888, Kingsmill moved to Western Australia, initially settling in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

where he represented the Victorians Football Club in two matches in the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL "waffle" or "W-A-F-L") is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting f ...

during the 1888 season. He soon moved to the north-west to participate in the Pilbara goldrush, remaining in the district for eight years where he managed the Stray Shot, Excelsior, Augusta, and Talga-Talga mines. He served as mining registrar at Marble Bar from November 1894 to October 1895 and was also a member of the Pilbara Road Board.

Western Australian politics

Kingsmill was elected to 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 ...

at the 1897 general election, representing the seat of

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

. He was initially a supporter of

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 ...

's government, but by 1899 was

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

for the opposition. Kingsmill moved to 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 ...

in 1903. He served as Minister for Public Works in 1901, Commissioner for Railways 1901–1902, Colonial Secretary 1902–1904 and 1905–1906, and Minister for Education 1902–1904 and 1905–1906. He was President of the Legislative Council 1919–1922.

Federal politics

In 1922, he was elected to 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 ...

as a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

Senator for Western Australia. On 14 August 1929, he was elected

, serving until 30 August 1932, when he was replaced by Patrick Lynch. On 7 May 1931, Kingsmill chaired the meeting of opposition members at which the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

came into existence as a parliamentary party. He retired at the 1934 election, but died on 15 January 1935 while still a senator, necessitating the early appointment of Allan MacDonald (who had been elected to succeed him).

Personal life

Kingsmill married Mary Fanning in 1899, but had no children. He moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

after his election to the Senate and died of a

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion, or coronary artery disease, is the partial or complete Coronary artery disease, obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition was first discussed in 1910 by William Osler, Sir William Osler. This condition s ...

at his home in Elizabeth Bay on 15 January 1935, aged 70. He was cremated at

Rookwood Cemetery Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating cemetery from the ...

and his ashes were later scattered by the senate clerk over the rose gardens at

Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Meeting places of parliament Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * P ...

. Kingsmill served two terms as president of the Lawn Tennis Association of Western Australia and was voted a life member. He was the president of the board of

Perth Zoo Perth Zoo is a zoological park in South Perth, Western Australia, South Perth, Western Australia. The zoo first opened in 1898 and by 2011 housed 1258 animals of 164 species and an extensive botanical collection. It is a full institutional me ...

from 1916 to 1922 and acting director from 1916 to 1917, during which time he travelled to Singapore and the

Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...

to buy animals. He was also a member of the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

and the Kings Park board.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsmill, Walter 1864 births 1935 deaths People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide University of Adelaide alumni Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Presidents of the Australian Senate Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Presidents of the Western Australian Legislative Council West Perth Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Australian sportsperson-politicians Australian prospectors Ministers for education (Western Australia) Australian Knights Bachelor