Walter Kingsmill

Sir Walter Kingsmill (10 April 1864 – 15 January 1935) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1923 to 1935. He was President of the Senate from 1929 to 1932.

Kingsmill was born in Adelaide and became a geologist and prospector. He moved to Western Australia in 1888, participating in the Pilbara goldrush and serving as a mining registrar. Kingsmill was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (1897–1903) and Legislative Council (1903–1922), serving as a state government minister and president of the Legislative Council (1919–1922). He transferred to the Senate at the 1922 federal election, serving two terms as a Nationalist and United Australia Party senator. Outside of politics he had a long association with the Perth Zoo.

Early life Kingsmill was born on 10 April 1864 in Glenelg, South Australia. He was the son of Jane Elizabeth (née Haslam) and Walter Kingsmill; his father was a pastoralist.

Kingsmill attended St Peter's College, Adelaide. He graduated Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide in 1883 and subsequently joined the Geological Department of South Australia. In 1886 he left the public service to work as a prospector, spending time on the Teetulpa and Mannahill goldfields and in the Barrier Ranges of New South Wales.

In 1888, Kingsmill moved to Western Australia, He soon moved to the north-west to participate in the Pilbara goldrush, remaining in the district for eight years where he managed the Stray Shot, Excelsior, Augusta, and Talga-Talga mines.

Federal politics

Kingsmill was elected to the Senate at the 1922 federal election, to a six-year term beginning on 1 July 1923. He was re-elected to a further six-year term at the 1928 election.

Kingsmill served on the Joint Statutory Committee on Public Accounts from 1924 to 1929, including as chairman from 1927. In parliament he spoke regularly on trade and foreign affairs, advocated for improvements in transport and telecommunications, and supported scientific research. He considered that senators should primarily act in the interest of their states, in line with what he viewed as the intent of the constitution, although he typically voted along party lines. Following the 1931, he was narrowly defeated by Lynch as the UAP's nominee for Senate president, with his term ending on 20 August 1932. He failed to win UAP preselection for the 1934 election, likely due to his lack of support for the Western Australian secession movement. He died in office on 15 January 1935, before the conclusion of his term.