Henry Daglish, Australian politician, 6th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1866)
Henry Daglish (18 November 1866 – 16 August 1920) was an Australian politician who was the sixth premier of Western Australia and the first from the Australian Labor Party, serving from 10 August 1904 to 25 August 1905. Born in Ballarat, Victoria, Daglish studied at the University of Melbourne. In 1882, he worked as a mechanical engineer, but soon switched to working in the Victorian public service. He first stood for election in 1896, but was unsuccessful in winning the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Melbourne South. He then moved to Subiaco, Western Australia, gaining work as a chief clerk in the WA Police Department. In 1900, Daglish was elected to the Subiaco Municipal Council. On 24 April 1901, Daglish was elected as the member for the newly created seat of Subiaco, becoming one of six Labor members in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. He was elected by the party as its whip, and he tendered his resignation from the Subiaco council on 1 May 1901. On 1 December 1902, he was sworn in as mayor of Subiaco, having been elected the previous month.
At the 1904 state election, Labor won 22 out of the Legislative Assembly's 50 seats, making it the party with the most seats. On 8 July 1904, Daglish was elected by the Labor Party caucus as the party's leader. Daglish successfully moved a motion of no confidence in the government of Walter James on 10 August, and so James resigned as premier. Daglish was then sworn in as premier of Western Australia, colonial treasurer and minister for education by Governor Frederick Bedford. His keynote speech on 23 August was poorly received, with militant Labor supporters seeing him as giving up on Labor policies. In parliament, he struggled to get anything done due to a hostile Legislative Council, with his one major success being the passing of a new Public Service Act. A cabinet reshuffle in June 1905 decreased Daglish's popularity within the Labor Party, however he defeated a motion of no confidence later that month at a caucus meeting. He eventually resigned as premier on 22 August 1905 when his plan to buy the Midland Railway Company for £1.5 million was unsuccessful in passing parliament. Hector Rason succeeding him as premier on 25 August.
On 27 September 1905, Daglish resigned as leader of the Labor Party. He then left the party, becoming an independent. He was again elected Mayor of Subiaco on 5 June 1907, serving in the position until 1908. From 20 August 1907 to 16 September 1910, Daglish held the position of Chairman of Committees. From 16 September 1910 to 3 October 1911, he was the minister for works in Frank Wilson's Liberal government. At the October 1911 election, Daglish lost his seat in parliament to Labor candidate Bartholomew James Stubbs. He was unsuccessful in regaining the seat at the 1914 state election. Daglish died at his home in Subiaco on 16 August 1920. He has Daglish railway station and the suburb of Daglish, Western Australia, named after him.