Edmund Birch was a Member of the 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...

n 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 1873 to 1875.

Born in 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...

 in 1831, Birch emigrated to Western Australia on the Parkfield in March 1841. There he was apprenticed to George Shenton Sr

George Shenton Sr

George Shenton was a pharmacist, merchant, banker and philanthropist in colonial Perth, Western Australia.George Shenton was born in Winchester in England on 2 January 1811, the second of four sons of a wealthy silk manufacturer. At the age of fifteen, he was apprenticed to a pharmacist named...

 as a pharmacist

Pharmacist

Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...

. From 1852 to 1853, he was an assistant at the Colonial Hospital (now Royal Perth Hospital

Royal Perth Hospital

Royal Perth Hospital is an 855-bed teaching hospital located on the northeastern edge of the CBD of Perth, Western Australia . Royal Perth Hospital also has specialised rehabilitation facilities at Shenton Park.-History:...

). He then went into partnership with his father and brother as pharmacists and grocers in Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

. In May 1856 he married Anne Hymus; they would have eight children.

Birch began to take an interest in public life, becoming vice president of the Perth Workingmen's Association and chairman of the Swan Mechanics' Institute. In 1862 he was a founding director of the Perth Building Society

Perth Building Society

Perth Building Society was Western Australia’s first building society. It operated from 1862 to 1987, when it amalgamated with the Hotham Permanent Building Society to form Challenge Bank....

. The following year he became a member of the Perth Municipal Council

City of Perth

The City of Perth is a local government area and body, within the Perth Metropolitan Area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government body is commonly known as Perth City Council. The city covers the Perth central business district and surrounding suburbs...

, which position he held until his death. He became a member of the Perth Board of Education, a director of the WA Bank, and in 1872 was captain of the Volunteer Rifle Corps.

On 19 October 1870, Birch contested the 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...

 seat of Perth, but was unsuccessful. On 18 November 1873, he contested the seat again in a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

. He won the seat, holding it until his death. He died on 16 January 1875 as a result of injuries from a fire.