Biographical entry
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Bright Sparcs
Biographical entry
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Harper, Charles (1842 - 1912) |
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| Agriculturalist and Legislator | |
| Born: 15 July 1842 Toodyay, Western Australia, Australia. Died: 20 April 1912 Woodbridge, Western Australia, Australia. | |
| Charles Harper was a successful businessman who worked in a variety of fields: he ran several sheep stations and mixed farms; carried out vital research into farming and agricultural techniques and was the first person in Western Australia to irrigate with artesian water; invented many useful technologies including a shearing machine and a process for treating effluent from septic tanks; a proprietor of three newspapers (Western Australian Times, West Australian, Western Mail); a successful pearler; a long-term member of the Legislative Council; a Parliamentary Speaker and a chair of many royal commissions. Harper also explored remote parts of Western Australia in search of pastoral lands (1860s) and became fluent in the local Aboriginal language. |
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At a very young age (around 16), Charles Harper set off to the south-east of Western Australia to establish his own farm. He spent several years farming there before joining the search for pastoral lands in the Yilgarn district. He then took up pearling for a short term and from those proceeds bought into the de Gray sheep station (1871). He sold his share in 1878 and bought into a smaller property in Yanrey. In 1879 Harper bought the Western Australian Times newspaper, got married and moved to Woodbridge where he established a mixed sheep, dairy, wheat and orchard farm. The farm proved to be very successful and lead to many agricultural advances including irrigation with artesian water and the establishment of the first local wheat varieties. In 1885 he established the West Australian and Western Mail newspapers and used them to report his farming research findings. Charles Harper joined the Legislative Council in 1878 as a representative of the North District. He spent the most part of the next twenty-seven years in the Council representing various districts. Harper also chaired many royal commissions including those into customs (1893) and immigration (1905) and was appointed parliamentary Speaker in 1903 by the Liberal premier Walter James. Chronology
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Published by The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre on ASAPWeb, 1994 - 2007 Originally published 1994-1999 by Australian Science Archives Project, 1999-2006 by the Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre Disclaimer, Copyright and Privacy Policy Submit any comments, questions, corrections and additions Prepared by: Acknowledgements Updated: 26 February 2007 http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P000054b.htm |