P000054 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

All key entry types: Awards; Concepts; Corporate Bodies (Organisations); Cultural Artefacts; People; etc

These key entries are listed separately below with other indexes and lists.

 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 1993-10-20 human McCarthy, G.J. updated 2025-12-16 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P000054b.htm person Harper Charles AACR2 15 July 1842 20 April 1912 Place of Birth Toodyay, Western Australia, Australia Place of Death Woodbridge, Western Australia, Australia Agriculturalist Parliamentarian Newspaper proprietor 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 Western Australian Parliament, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly 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.

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.

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 Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 1903 by the Liberal premier Walter James.

1861 1861 Career position - Exploration for pastoral lands in the Yilgarn district of Western Australia (WA) 1864 1864 Career position - Exploration for pastoral lands in the Yilgarn district with Barnard Clarkson 1865 1865 Taxonomy event - Eucalyptus orbifolia F. Muell. Harper collected the type 1866 1866 Career position - Exploration for pastoral lands in Roebourne, WA 1871 1878 Career position - Co-owner of de Grey station in WA 1878 1880 Career position - Representative for North District, Legislative Council, Parliament of Western Australia 1878 1904 Career position - Co-owner of a station in Yanrey, WA 1879 Career position - Proprietor of the Western Australian Times newspaper 1884 1890 Career position - Representative for York, Legislative Council, Parliament of Western Australia 1885 Career position - Owner of the West Australian and Western Mail newspapers 1890 1905 Career position - Member for Beverley, Legislative Assembly, Parliament of Western Australia 1893 1893 Career position - Chair of the Royal commission on customs 1897 1903 Career position - Chairman of Committees, Legislative Assembly, Parliament of Western Australial 1902 1902 Career position - Chair, Royal Commission on the Coolgardie water scheme 1903 1903 Career position - Chair, Royal Commission on forestry 1904 1904 Career position - Speaker, Legislative Assembly, Parliament of Western Australia 1905 1905 Career position - Chair, Royal Commission on immigration State of Western Australia (1901 - )

Parliament of Western Australia - Legislative Assembly: Member for Beverley 1901 - 1905; Chairman of Committees 1901 - 1903; Speaker 1903 - 1904

 Colony of Western Australia (1829 - 1901)

Parliament of Western Australia - Legislative Council: Representative for Northern District (1878 - 1880) and York (1884 - 1890); Legislative Assembly: Member for Beverly (1890 - 1901), Chairman of Committees 1897 - 1901

 Clarkson, Barnard Drummond (1836 - 1909)

Expedition seeking pastoral land 1864

Wikidata

VIAF - Virtual International Authority File

 Harper, Charles (18420715-19120420)

Trove

 'Harper, Charles', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Harper, Charles Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Book: The Life of Charles Harper Mercer, F. R. The Life of Charles Harper Perth 1958 Book Section: Harper, Charles (1842-1912), agriculturist, legislator and newspaper proprietor Battye, O. K. Harper, Charles (1842-1912), agriculturist, legislator and newspaper proprietor Melbourne Melbourne University Press 1972 Australian dictionary of biography, volume 4: 1851 - 1890 D-J Douglas Pike 348-349 Book: Expedition Eastwards from Northam by the Dempster Brothers, Clarkson, Harper and Correll, July-August 1861 Brooker, Lesley Expedition Eastwards from Northam by the Dempster Brothers, Clarkson, Harper and Correll, July-August 1861 Carlisle Hesperian Press 2007 Journal Article: Retracing history through herbarium specimens Milne, Pina Retracing history through herbarium specimens 2020 Studies in Western Australian history 35 75-87