Richard Gale 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 1874 to 1878.

He was born the 12th child of John Gale, farmer of Dorset, England (the 3rd by his second wife, Mary Brown). He was baptised at Beaminster

Beaminster

Beaminster is a small town and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, at the head of the valley of the River Brit. Beaminster is south of Bristol, west of Bournemouth, east of Exeter and northwest of the county town of Dorchester...

 on 18 December, 1834 and in later life he said that he was born at Westhay Farm. Nothing more is known of his early life, but in 1856 he 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...

 on board the Shanghai. He was farm and dairy manager for William Locke Brockman

William Locke Brockman

William Locke Brockman was an early settler in Western Australia, who became a leading pastoralist and stock breeder, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council....

 at Gingin

Gingin, Western Australia

Gingin is an agricultural town in Western Australia. The town is located north of Perth along the Brand Highway.The town is well suited for agriculture with a mild climate and available water sources...

 until 1860, and then managed John Molloy

John Molloy

Captain John Molloy was an early settler in Western Australia. He was one of the original settlers of Augusta.-Early life:...

's Busselton

Busselton, Western Australia

-Growth and development:According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the Shire had a permanent resident population of 25,950 in 2004 with the town of Busselton accounting for 67% or 17,400 of the total. The Shire's permanent population is expected to continue to increase significantly to...

 property Fairlawn until 1867. On Molloy's death in October of that year, Gale leased and then purchased Fairlawn, living there until his death.

Gale became a pioneer of dairy farming

Dairy farming

Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...

 in the South West, and also became involved in public affairs. He was a foundation member and president of the Southern Districts Agricultural Society, and a member of the Vasse Road Board. On 5 October 1874 he was elected to the Legislative Council seat of Vasse

Electoral district of Vasse

-External links:* ABC Election Profiles: * WAEC District Maps:...

, holding it until his resignation on 16 February 1878.

On 5 September 1877, Gale married Hannah Rebecca Margaret Spencer, daughter of William Spencer. The marriage made him a brother-in-law of James Mitchell

James Mitchell (Australian politician)

Sir James Mitchell GCMG was the 13th Premier of Western Australia, serving on two occasions, the Lieutenant-Governor of Western Australia for 15 years and the 22nd Governor of Western Australia....

, who had also married one of Spencer's daughters. Gale had no children, and died at Busselton on 2 January 1931.