Frank Wise
Encyclopedia
Frank Joseph Scott Wise AO (30 May 189729 June 1986) was an Australian Labor Party
politician and the 16th Premier of Western Australia
. He took office on 31 July 1945 in the closing stages of the Second World War, following the resignation of his predecessor due to ill health. He lost the following election two years later to the Liberal Party
after Labor had held office for fourteen years previously.
Wise was a farmer for several years in Queensland before working in the Department of Agriculture in that state. He later moved to Western Australia
as a technical adviser in the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and in 1928 was commissioned to report and advise on tropical agriculture in the Northern Territory
and the North West of Western Australia.
In the 1933 state election
which saw future Premiers Albert Hawke
and John Tonkin
also win seats, Wise successfully contested the seat of Gascoyne
(now merged into Murchison-Eyre
) in the state's lower house for the Labor Party. In 1936 he moved to the front bench as Minister for Agriculture and the North-West.
For reasons of ill health, John Willcock
resigned his premiership on 31 July 1945 and Wise was elected into the position. Wise held the position for only two years until the 1947 election when his party lost to the Liberals headed by Sir Ross McLarty
.
He was Leader of the Opposition
for the next four years before taking up the position of Administrator of the Northern Territory
and President of the Northern Territory Legislative Council
(now replaced with the unicameral Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
).
In 1942, botanist Charles Gardner
named the Australian shrub Acacia wiseana
in his honour.
In the 1979 Australia Day
honours list, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia
for his services to politics.
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
politician and the 16th Premier of Western Australia
Premier of Western Australia
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
. He took office on 31 July 1945 in the closing stages of the Second World War, following the resignation of his predecessor due to ill health. He lost the following election two years later to the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
after Labor had held office for fourteen years previously.
Wise was a farmer for several years in Queensland before working in the Department of Agriculture in that state. He later moved 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...
as a technical adviser in the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and in 1928 was commissioned to report and advise on tropical agriculture in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
and the North West of Western Australia.
In the 1933 state election
Western Australian state election, 1933
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 8 April 1933 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The one-term Nationalist-Country coalition government, led by Premier Sir James Mitchell, was defeated by the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Philip Collier.The election...
which saw future Premiers Albert Hawke
Albert Hawke
Albert Redvers George Hawke was the 18th Premier of Western Australia.Hawke was born to James Renfrey Hawke and Eliza Ann Blinman Pascoe, both of Cornish descent, in Kapunda, South Australia...
and John Tonkin
John Tonkin
John Trezise Tonkin AC , popularly known as "Honest John", was the 20th Premier of Western Australia , taking power after the almost 12 year term of Liberal Sir David Brand....
also win seats, Wise successfully contested the seat of Gascoyne
Electoral district of Gascoyne
Gascoyne was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1890 to 1989.The district was located in the Western Australian outback, in the north-west of the state...
(now merged into Murchison-Eyre
Electoral district of Murchison-Eyre
Murchison-Eyre was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1890 to 1989 and again from 2005 to 2008....
) in the state's lower house for the Labor Party. In 1936 he moved to the front bench as Minister for Agriculture and the North-West.
For reasons of ill health, John Willcock
John Willcock
John Collings Willcock was the 15th Premier of Western Australia.-Early life:John Willcock was born at Frogmoor , New South Wales on 9 August 1879. The son of miner Joseph Willcock, he was educated at Sydney High School before emigrating to Western Australia in 1897...
resigned his premiership on 31 July 1945 and Wise was elected into the position. Wise held the position for only two years until the 1947 election when his party lost to the Liberals headed by Sir Ross McLarty
Ross McLarty
Sir Duncan Ross McLarty KBE MM was the 17th Premier of Western Australia.-Early life:McLarty was born in Pinjarra, Western Australia, the youngest of seven children of Edward McLarty, a farmer and grazier and member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, and his wife Mary Jane, née Campbell...
.
He was Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia)
The Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia is the leader of the largest minority political party or coalition of parties in the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia. By convention, he or she is generally a member of the Legislative Assembly...
for the next four years before taking up the position of Administrator of the Northern Territory
Administrator of the Northern Territory
The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to exercise powers analogous to that of a state governor...
and President of the Northern Territory Legislative Council
Northern Territory Legislative Council
The Northern Territory Legislative Council was the partly elected governing body of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1947 until its replacement by the fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974....
(now replaced with the unicameral Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral parliament of the Northern Territory in Australia. It sits in Parliament House, located on State Square, close to the centre of the city of Darwin.-History:...
).
In 1942, botanist Charles Gardner
Charles Gardner
Charles Austin Gardner was a Western Australian botanist.Born in Lancaster, England on 6 January 1896, he emigrated to Western Australia with his family in 1909....
named the Australian shrub Acacia wiseana
Acacia wiseana
Acacia wiseana is a shrub that grows in arid and semi-arids parts of northern Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It is a spiny shrub, one to four metres in height, with yellow flowers from July to September...
in his honour.
In the 1979 Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
honours list, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
for his services to politics.