Walter Kingsmill

Sir Walter Kingsmill (10 April 1864 – 15 January 1935) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1923 to 1935. He was President of the Senate from 1929 to 1932.

The Honourable Sir Walter Kingsmill
President of the Senate
In office 14 August 1929 – 30 August 1932
Preceded by	John Newlands
Succeeded by	Patrick Lynch
Senator for Western Australia
In office 1 July 1923 – 15 January 1935
Personal details
Born	10 April 1864 Glenelg, South Australia, Australia
Died	15 January 1935 (aged 70) Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Nationalist (1923–31) UAP (1931–35)
Spouse(s)	Mary Agatha Fanning ​ (m. 1899)​
Alma mater	University of Adelaide
Occupation	Mine manager

Early life

Born in Glenelg, South Australia, he was educated at St Peter's College in Adelaide and at the University of Adelaide before becoming a geologist. Moving to Western Australia in 1888, he became a mine manager. While in Perth, he represented the Victorians Football Club (later West Perth) in two matches in the West Australian Football League during the 1888 season.[1]

Western Australian politics

In 1897, he was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly as the member for Pilbara. He moved to the Legislative Council 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 as a Nationalist Senator for Western Australia. On 14 August 1929, he was elected President of the Senate, 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 came into existence as a parliamentary party.[2] 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).[3]

References

1. "Footballers in the House" (PDF). Retrieved 30 September 2011.
2. "UNITED PARTY". Hobart Mercury. 8 May 1931.
3. Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 19 November 2008.