John Kirwan (politician)
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Sir John Kirwan KCMG |
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| Member of the Australian Parliament for Kalgoorlie |
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In office 29 March 1901 – 16 December 1903 |
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| Preceded by | New seat |
| Succeeded by | Charles Frazer |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
2 December 1869 Liverpool, England |
| Died | 9 September 1949 (aged 79) Subiaco, Western Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Free Trade Party |
| Spouse(s) | Teresa Gertrude |
| Occupation | Newspaper editor |
Sir John Waters Kirwan, KCMG (2 December 1869 – 9 September 1949) was the President of the Western Australian Legislative Council and first Federal member for Kalgoorlie in the Australian House of Representatives.
He was born in Liverpool, England, of Irish parents.
He did literary work in London and Dublin before coming to Australia in 1889. At first, he continued writing in Brisbane, Melbourne and South Australian newspapers but moved to Kalgoorlie in 1895, attracted by the great gold discoveries.
In Kalgoorlie, he edited both the Western Argus and Kalgoorlie Miner newspapers, with the latter growing in size and importance under his editorship. In 1898, he stood for the Legislative Council seat of North-East Province and lost by 90 votes. In 1901, he agreed to stand for the federal seat of Kalgoorlie under the Free Trade Party banner, and won the seat comfortably. During his time in federal politics he was a member of the Royal Commission on Iron Bonuses. He was defeated by the Labor nominee C. E. Frazer in the second federal election.
In 1908, he was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council for the South Province, where he sat until 1946, and served as President of the Council from 1926 to 1946. Throughout his tenure, he remained an Independent, although he was an enthusiastic supporter of the Scaddan Labor government from 1911 until 1916, voting in 165 divisions with the government and none against. Following its defeat in 1916, he worked with governments of both major political persuasions and strongly advocated for his Goldfields constituency.
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