James Mitchell (politician, 1866)

Mitchell

Sir James Mitchell (* 27. April 1866 in Dardanup , Western Australia , Australia ; † 26. July 1951 in Glen Mervyn , Western Australia) was Prime Minister and Governor of the Australian state of Western Australia.

Life

Mitchell was born in 1866 on a farm in Dardanup, near Bunbury . In 1885 he began an apprenticeship at the Western Australian Bank and was transferred to Geraldton . In 1888 he married Clara Robinson Spencer.

From 1890, Mitchell ran a bank branch in Northam , and he soon became a successful farmer as well. In 1905 he was elected to the parliament of Western Australia and dealt primarily with agricultural issues. From 1909 to 1916 he was Minister for Agriculture and Industry.

In 1919, Hal Colebatch resigned as Prime Minister and Mitchell succeeded him. He also succeeded in asserting himself in the upcoming parliamentary elections of 1921. Mitchell ensured that women were given the right to stand for election. He also set up a central authority to oversee the increasing amount of car traffic. In addition, he paid attention to promoting agriculture and, in particular, the dairy industry. However, he was often at odds with his ministerial colleagues and members of his coalition; he was considered an impatient and bossy character. In 1923 the majority of the Country Party MPs resigned from the coalition, and the Mitchell administration was voted out of office in the general election the following year.

In 1930, the Country Party won again in the elections and enabled Mitchell again to serve as prime minister. During his tenure, the Great Depression fell , in which the unemployment rate rose to 30% and a fall in wheat prices drove many farms to the brink of ruin. Mitchell nationalized the bankrupt State Savings Bank and enacted a law that allowed heavily indebted farmers to stay on their farms to pay off the debt. He tried to reduce the number of unemployed through state employment programs. Meanwhile, the populist Dominion League , which called for Western Australia to break away from the Australian Confederation, was very popular. In a referendum on April 8, 1933 , which was held together with the parliamentary elections, a majority of 66% voted for the secession of Western Australia. Mitchell was voted out of office, however, and the successor government only half-heartedly pursued the issue of secession.

In July 1933 he was at the suggestion of new Prime Minister Philip Collier for lieutenant governor appointed by Western Australia. As he regained popularity, particularly during World War II , he was given the post of governor in 1948. After his wife and three of his four children died within a few years, he resigned in 1951. In July of the same year Mitchell died while on a train ride at Glen Mervyn.

Awards

• Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1917)
• Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1921)
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1947)

literature

• GC Bolton: Mitchell, Sir James (1866-1951) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1966–2012 (English).