Edward Henry Higham was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council

Western Australian Legislative Council

The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the Legislative Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state...

 from 1880 to 1884.

The son of a baker

Baker

A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...

, Edward Higham was born in Brackley

Brackley

Brackley is a town in south Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Oxford and miles form Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the intersecting trade routes between London, Birmingham and the English Midlands and between Cambridge and Oxford...

, Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 on 26 July 1846. In 1853 his family emigrated to Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, settling in Fremantle

Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...

 and opening a shop. After the death of his father, Higham left school in 1859 to help his mother run the shop. Around 1870 he became a partner in the firm.

From 1870 on, Higham became increasingly involved in public life. From 1872 to 1876 he served on the Fremantle Town Council, and in 1873 he became a member of the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce. That year he was also chairman of the Fremantle Roads Board. He was chairman of the Fremantle Building Society for ten years from 1875, and a member of the Fremantle Board of Education in 1876. From 1878 until 1882, Higham against served on the Fremantle Town Council, becoming its chairman in 1883. On 10 February 1880, Edward Higham became a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council

Western Australian Legislative Council

The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the Legislative Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state...

, holding the seat of Fremantle until 21 October 1884.

In April 1880, Higham married Alice Glyde, daughter of George Glyde and later wife of William Pearse. They would have three sons and a daughter. Higham died at Fremantle on 20 April 1885. His brother John became a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly

Western Australian Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....

. Edward Higham is distantly related to the British actor and explorer Tim Higham, also known as Tim FitzHigham

Tim FitzHigham

Tim FitzHigham FRSA FRGS is an award winning British comedian, author, and world record holder. The feats he has performed include paddling a paper boat down 160 miles of the River Thames, rowing a bathtub across the English Channel, and inflating the world's largest balloon.-Career:FitzHigham...

FRSA, FRGS.