Stephen Henry Parker
Encyclopedia
Chief Justice of Western Australia
The Chief Justice of Western Australia is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Western Australia. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court as well as the administrative head...
of the Supreme Court of Western Australia
Supreme Court of Western Australia
The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters , and hears the most serious criminal matters.The Supreme Court consists of a General Division The Supreme Court of Western...
from 1906 to 1914.
Early life
Stephen Henry Parker was the second son of Stephen Stanley ParkerStephen Stanley Parker
Stephen Stanley Parker was an early settler and pioneer of Western Australia and a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council....
(1817-1904) and his wife Elizabeth, née Sewell. He was the grandson of Stephen Parker (c.1795-1879), a pioneer settler at York
York, Western Australia
York is the oldest inland town in Western Australia, situated 97 km east of Perth in the Avon Valley near Northam, and is the seat of the Shire of York...
. Parker was educated at the Bishop's School, Perth, and was called to the bar in 1868.
Career
Parker became a member of the Western Australian Legislative CouncilWestern 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...
and advocated responsible government for the colony. In 1878 he moved for the introduction of a bill to amend the constitution, but this motion was defeated.
A constitution bill for responsible government was passed by the Legislative Council on 26 April 1889, but was met with some opposition in the British house of commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. It was suggested and agreed that a delegation consisting of the retiring governor, Sir Frederick Broome
Frederick Broome
Sir Frederick Napier Broome KCMG was a colonial administrator in the British Empire.He was born in Canada, but was living in England in 1865, when he married Mary Anne Barker...
, Sir Thomas Cockburn-Campbell
Thomas Cockburn-Campbell
Sir Thomas Cockburn-Campbell, 4th Baronet was an English-born journalist and politician in Australia.-Early life:...
and Parker should go to London to see the bill through the British parliament. The delegation was able to give a good answer to all objections raised, and subsequently the bill was passed and became law.
Parker was colonial secretary in the John Forrest
John Forrest
Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
ministry from October 1892 to December 1894 when he retired.
Parker was also chairman of the Perth City Council from November 1877 to 1879, for a few months in 1880-81 and Mayor from February to October 1892.
In 1881, he joined with his brother George to form the well known law firm Parker and Parker (which in 1997 merged with the Perth office of Freehill Hollingdale & Page).
Legacy
Parker married Amey Katharine Leake, daughter of George Walpole LeakeGeorge Walpole Leake
George Walpole Leake was a Western Australian barrister and magistrate and nephew of George Leake...
on 27 July 1872. She died in 1914. They had four sons and seven daughters who reached adulthood.
Their second son Hubert Stanley Wyborn Parker (1883-1966) was the 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....
for North-East Fremantle in 1930-33, and 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...
for Metropolitan-Suburban province in 1934-54. He was attorney-general for two months in 1933 and chief secretary in 1948-50.