Charles Court

Court was born on 29 September 1911 in Crawley, Sussex, England. He was the eldest of two sons of Rose Rebecca Rice and Walter James Court, a plumber.[1][2] The name Charles came from his mother's brother, Walter from his father, and Michael because he was born on Michaelmas Day.[2] The Court family left Crawley on 18 March 1912, bound for Western Australia. As Southampton Port was stifled by a coal strike, they travelled via Antwerp in Belgium, boarding the German ship Cassel.[3] They arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia, on 1 May 1912.[4] The family planned to return to Crawley within five years, but that never eventuated, first because Walter Court struggled to secure a job in Perth, then due to illness, then due to World War I.[5]

The Court family spent their first eight years in Western Australia living in Leederville, just north of Perth.[6] Walter Court eventually obtained a job digging sewerage and drainage trenches and formed a good enough impression that he was referred to a plumber who offered him a job.[6] Walter later got injured, and then in January 1916, enlisted in the army. At the time, Rose was pregnant with their second son. Walter trained at Blackboy Hill Camp and left for France in March 1916. Six weeks later, Sydney Hugo Court was born.[7] Charles shouldered heavy responsibility while his father was away. One time, when Walter's pay stopped coming through, Charles was sent down to the Perth Trades Hall to give a note to the union secretary.[8]

Court's first three years of school were at the local infants' school. He then attended Leederville Primary School.[9] Walter arrived home in May 1919. By then a Lance Corporal, Walter first served with the 177th Tunnelling Company and later with the Australian Electrical and Mechanical Miners and Builders Unit. Walter again found difficulty in securing a job. He found irregular work for plumbers H Rance and Son.[10] As the economy improved, the work became more regular. Walter was a strong unionist and supported the Labor Party. He admired Labor Premier Philip Collier and took Charles to union rallies. In 1921, the Court family purchased and moved into a house in West Subiaco (now Shenton Park), using a war service home loan.[11] In West Subiaco, Charles attended Rosalie Primary School.[12] From 1924 to 1926, he attended Perth Boys School.[13]

Court playing the trumpet in 1974

Meanwhile, in 1919, Court started learning to play the Cornet[14] and he soon joined a succession of local bands.[15] Beginning at age 12, Court played in music competitions.[15] He later joined the RSL band, which consisted of ex-servicemen. It was renamed the RSL memorial band so that Court could join, and he soon became the band's solo cornet.[16] He also joined the Young Australia League band[17] and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra,[18] the latter of which got Court his first job. When he was 15, the secretary of the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra asked the patron, Sir William Campion, who was also the governor of Western Australia, to put in a good word, which resulted in Court gaining a job as an office boy for law firm Robinson Cox & Wheatley.[19]

Court accepted an invitation from Harry Hearn to join the Liberal Party and form the Perth City Branch in 1946.[46] Court helped the party during the 1947 state election campaign by convincing people to stand as candidates for the Liberal Party and helping them campaign. There was also some push for Court to be a candidate himself, but that did not eventuate. His reputation within the party grew throughout the campaign though. The campaign resulted in the defeat of Frank Wise's Labor government and the election of Ross McLarty's Liberal-CDL government. The Liberal Party was for the first time the senior party in the Coalition and it soon changed its name to the Liberal and Country League (LCL) to encourage CDL members to defect to the Liberals. The LCL-CDL Coalition won the following state election in 1950. In the electoral district of Nedlands, Court's future seat, long time Liberal MLA Norbert Keenan was not re-endorsed, so he ran as an independent candidate. Keenan was not re-elected, but his preferences resulted in the election of another independent, David Grayden.[47]

Grayden soon introduced a private member's bill called "The Protection of Trade Act 1951", which was supported by Labor and the CDL but not the Liberals, and worried businessmen. The Liberals decided they needed a candidate in Nedlands with a business background. The Liberal candidate in 1950, Cyril Bird, declined to stand again in the 1953 state election. Another potential candidate, Cyril Dudley, Keenan's campaign director, chose not to as well. Court was asked to stand as a candidate by a deputation of a dozen businessmen, including Lance Brisbane, Harry Hearn, and Fred Johnston, but declined. Three months later, another deputation asked him to stand. Court told them that there were other, more suitable candidates, but they told him he was the most popular in Shenton Park, the most Labor-leaning part of the electorate of Nedlands. Court was reluctant to agree, as his business career would be put on hold, but he eventually agreed, promising to leave politics after two terms, or six years, in parliament.[48]

In a preselection meeting in August 1952,[48] the party endorsed three candidates: Grayden, Court, and Peter Aldred. Grayden refused the nomination and Court threatened to step down, but was convinced not to. Court would later say the campaign was a "nightmare", as people were confused why the Liberal Party endorsed two candidates. Premier McLarty tried to convince Court to transfer to the electoral district of Leederville, where he grew up. McLarty was in talks with Grayden to convince him to drop the protectionist bill if the Liberal Party were to support Grayden, which was undermining Court's campaign.[49] During the campaign, Court received support from Stanley Savige. Grayden's election materials said that he would make service to his electorate "his full-time duty", implying that Court would remain involved with his business.[50] Court ended up winning by 837 out of 8777 votes on a two-party-preferred basis. He was the only new Liberal member elected. The Liberal Party ended up losing the overall election though, being defeated by the Labor Party. Bert Hawke was soon sworn in as Premier and Court found himself in the opposition.[51]

Aubrey Coverley, the Labor member for Kimberley, died in March 1953, necessitating a by-election for the seat of Kimberley.[52] Court was the only opposition member who campaigned in the by-election as the seat was previously uncontested by any other party and it was believed to be a safe seat for Labor. John Rhatigan of the Labor Party ended up winning and Court gained experience in a part of Western Australia he had not been to previously. The north of Western Australia was isolated and undeveloped and Court saw that it needed to be developed. It soon became apparent that Court would one day become a government minister[53] and eventually the deputy leader of the LCL, although Court still believed he would exit parliament after six years. Opposition Leader McLarty and Deputy Opposition Leader David Brand would ask for Court's opinions, and soon, he would be put on the frontbench.[54] The Labor Party would attack Court for his business background, saying that he had no understanding of working class people. Court's friend, Alf Curlewis, said that "they don't realise it but they're making you famous. The worst thing that could happen, if they only knew it, was to ignore you." Some Liberal colleagues felt indignation over the attention Court had.[55]

Having developed a reputation for campaigning for Liberal candidates, Court was asked to campaign for Fred Chaney in the 1955 federal election against Tom Burke, who had held the seat of Perth for 14 years. The campaign was successful, Chaney defeating Burke to win the seat of Perth. In the 1956 state election, the only candidate to oppose Court was Grayden.[56] Court easily won re-election, receiving 73 percent of the vote, but the LCL overall went backwards, losing four seats. McLarty resigned as LCL leader in 1957, suffering from ill health,[57] allowing for Brand to be elected leader and Court to be elected deputy leader in March that year.[58] It was the elevation of Brand to party leader that convinced Court to stay in politics for longer than six years. Court believed McLarty was a poor leader, but with Brand instead, Court could move forward with his push to develop the northern parts of the state.[59]

Interested in developing the northern areas of Western Australia, Court set up and was chair of the North West and Kimberleys Committee, which developed LCL policy to take to the 1959 state election.[60] Court presented the policy to the Liberal Party's State Council for adoption. However, the federal members did not approve of the policy as it was seen as undermining the Menzies federal government and that they believed the state would request hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for the towns, railways, and ports that were needed. They told Court that there would not be any federal funding for the proposed developments in the north.[61] The State Council ended up endorsing the policy, but there was controversy when the minute taker wrote that the policy had not been endorsed. Court disputed the minutes at the next council meeting, and so the policy was adopted.[62]

Court was re-elected unopposed in Nedlands, so he could focus on campaigning in the rest of the state, especially in the north. Overall, the LCL gained six seats from the Labor Party, enough for the LCL, alongside the Country Party, to win a one seat majority.[63]

The Brand–Watts ministry was sworn in on 2 April 1959. Court was appointed as the minister for industrial development, minister for railways, and minister for the North-West.[64] The Country Party had asked that one of its members be the minister for railways, but after the election, the party said that it had no one that could fulfil the role. The railway system was run down at the time and there would inevitably be closures of some lines, so Court believed that no Country MP wanted to do this. Brand made Court the minister for railways, saying that the Country Party would want the portfolio "in a few weeks". That never happened, so Court continued as the minister for railways for eight years.[65]

The Department of Industrial Development had received little attention from the previous minister, Frank Wise. There were only fourteen staff members, only four of them were permanent, and there was no CEO.[66]

From 16 March 1965, Court took over as the minister for transport from James Craig. He also had Ray O'Connor appointed as an honorary minister assisting the minister for railways and transport.[67] Following the passage of the Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1965 in August that year, the ministry was expanded by two,[68] allowing O'Connor to take over from Court as the minister for transport. From 16 February 1967, O'Connor also took over as the minister for railways.[67]

As minister for industrial development under Brand, Court was the architect of a number of important development initiatives in the Western Australian iron-ore industry, paving the way for the subsequent Western Australian mining boom. He was integral in transforming the state from one which as recently as the 1930s had required special assistance from the Commonwealth Grants Commission, to one which was able to generate substantial income. Court's subsequent eight-year term as premier essentially continued these initiatives and, in particular, his strong promotion of iron-ore mining in the Pilbara region and gas exploration and development on the North West Shelf.

David Brand lost the 1971 state election, and so Court was removed from the ministry.[69]

In May 1972, Brand retired as opposition leader for health reasons and was replaced by Court. In 1974, the Liberal-Country Coalition defeated John Tonkin's Labor government and Court became premier.

The Court–McPharlin ministry was sworn in by Governor Hughie Edwards on 8 April 1974. Court was sworn in as premier, treasurer, and minister coordinating economic and regional development.[70]

From 18 June 1975 to 22 December 1975, Court was also the minister for federal affairs, a new position. He was succeeded by Ian Medcalf.[70]

Court was a staunch opponent of Aboriginal land rights, playing a central role in the infamous Noonkanbah land-rights dispute which marked a new low in relations between the government and Aboriginal people.[71][72] The mining boom had led to hundreds of resource tenements being pegged on the Yungngora people's Noonkanbah pastoral station in the Kimberley, but an anthropological report found the whole area had spiritual significance for the community. Court was adamant that the exploration should go ahead regardless—and a convoy of 45 trucks transporting a drilling rig left Perth, manned by non-union drivers and protected by hundreds of police, on 7 August 1980.[73] Violent confrontations between police and Noonkanbah protesters ensued, culminating in the drilling rigs forcing their way through community picket lines and on to sacred land.[72] The saga has been seen by some commentators as the defining issue of Court's final, unfinished term in office, and a problematic political legacy.[74]

Court was also renowned for his anti-centralist views, being a staunch defender of states' rights against perceived encroaching federal government powers, but also for his support of the Australian flag and the Australian Monarchy. In his maiden speech to parliament in 1953 he referred to a centralist government as "leviathan".[75] Despite his pro-union upbringing, as Premier he was vehemently opposed to trade unions. His government introduced modification to the Police Act (known as section 54b) which attempted to prevent gatherings of more than three people in public without police permission to hold illegal union meetings.[72][76][77] In 1976 Court controversially attempted to close the Tresillian Centre for mentally ill children in his blue-ribbon electorate of Nedlands, after complaints from neighbours. The affair prompted a public outcry which led to the resignation of parliamentary secretary Ray Young, and Court eventually backed down. However, the children were ultimately forced to move to Forrestfield and the centre was sold to the Nedlands Council.[72][78]

A cause of even greater controversy was Court's decision to close the Perth-Fremantle railway service in 1979. His stated rationale was that buses would do the job better, being cheaper and more flexible. However, it soon emerged that the government intended to build a freeway on part of the rail reserve.[79] A public protest group, "Friends of the Railways", campaigned against the closure in the period before the 1983 election contributing to the defeat of the Liberal government and the immediate reinstatement of the rail service by the succeeding Burke Labor government.[80]

As Premier, Court demonstrated a commitment to arts and culture in Western Australia, overseeing the inauguration of Murdoch University, the restoration of His Majesty's Theatre and the opening of the Art Gallery of Western Australia in 1979 as part of the new Perth Cultural Centre. Court was premier at the time of the state's 150th anniversary celebrations in 1979—commonly known as WAY '79.[81]

In 1982, he resigned from parliament[82] and was succeeded as premier by his deputy, Ray O'Connor. A few months later, his son Richard succeeded him as the member for Nedlands. The younger Court would become premier himself, from 1993 to 2001.

From left to right: Barry Court, Margaret Court, and Charles Court, in 1967

His wife Rita Steffanoni was born on 15 June 1911 and they were married on 3 June 1936. They had five sons: Victor born 13 November 1938, Barrymore ("Barry") born 23 March 1941, Kenneth ("Ken") born 11 December 1943, Richard born 27 September 1947 and Geoffrey born 29 May 1949.

Rita died in 1992 and in 1996 he married, for the second time, to his former nurse Judy.

After winning his father's Nedlands constituency in 1982, Richard Court became the state's twenty sixth Premier from 1993 to 2001. Barry Court was president of the Pastoralists' and Graziers' Association, married Margaret Smith, and was President of the Liberal Party of Western Australia from 2008 to 2011.[83]

Court was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1947,[84] Knight Bachelor in 1972,[85] Knight of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1979,[86] and a Knight of the Order of Australia (AK) in 1982.[87] He received a Centenary Medal in 2001.[88]

On 16 April 2007, at the age of 95, Court suffered a minor stroke. Several days later, his son, Richard, advised that his father was recovering but was suffering from some speech difficulties and it was unclear whether any permanent damage had resulted.[89] Charles Court died on 22 December 2007 at his Nedlands home.[72]

• Court–McPharlin Ministry
• Court Ministry
• Electoral results for the district of Nedlands

• Court, Charles (1995). Blainey, Geoffrey (ed.). Charles Court, the early years: an autobiography. Fremantle Arts Centre Press. ISBN 1863681515.
• Court, Charles (1990–2006). "Oral History" (PDF) (Interview). Interviewed by Ronda Jamieson – via State Library of Western Australia.