John Wright
WRIGHT, John Arthur MICE MICEI RM (1841-1920)
John Arthur Wright was born in Dover, England on November 25, 1841. He was the son of railway engineer, John Wright and his wife Mary Boylan Wright, nee Holahan. He was first educated privately by tutor, then at Queen Elizabeth School and finally at Clapham Grammar School.
Wright was articled to prominent railway engineer, Joseph Cubitt MICE, and on completing his training, he worked in Wales, Spain, Russia and France. Projects included the construction of the Bilboa and Tudela Railway in Spain and construction of the Kidwelly Railway, South Wales.
On January 28, 1870, Wright married Katherine Whitington at Tuxford, England. They had three children, two sons and a daughter.
In 1872 Wright was Chief Inspecting Engineer for the North of Ireland. He was also Chief Engineer of the Cadiz Waterworks, Rouen Steam Tramways and the St Ettiene Railway. He was appointed Managing Director of the Conde d’eu Railway in Brazil but did not take up the post, preferring to come to WA.
Wright arrived with his wife and three children at Fremantle on June 12, 1885 on the “Penola” having transhipped at Albany from the “RMS Indus” that had taken them from London via Columbo. He had been recruited to take up the positions of Chief Engineer, Director of Works and Commissioner of Railways. He also served as a member of the Executive Council from July 1885 to December 1890.
Wright was immediately recognised as being a very energetic, logical and competent engineer. His strong railway skills assisted in the dramatic expansion of the rail network and the negotiations with the privately built Great Southern Rail and Midland Rail. He progressed railways from York to Beverley, Spencers Brook to Northam, Walkaway to Geraldton and Clackline to Toodyay He also was the founding Grand Master of the first Freemason’s lodge in WA.
He resigned from his government posts from December 30, 1889 to take up the position of General Manager of the Western Australian Land Company and Great Southern Railway. He was retained by the WA Government as a consulting engineer. Moving to Albany he established the Albany Observer newspaper being Director and Chairman of the Albany Printing and Publishing Company.
On December 24, 1890 he was appointed to the first Legislative Council a position he held until June 1894. He was also a WA Colony Representative at the National Convention in 1891 to establish a Federal Australian Government. The Western Australian Land Company sold the Great Southern Railway to the State Government in 1897, at which time John Wright became Resident Magistrate at Albany, and remained in that role until 1908.
John Wright died at Albany, WA, on February 24, 1920, survived by his wife Katherine and their three children.
References:
West Australian, 15.6.1885, p3
The Possum, 19.11.1887, p6
West Australian, 5.12.1888, p3
Albany Observer, 17.5.1890, p5
J S Battye editor, Cyclopedia of Western Australia, Volume 2, Adelaide, 1912
J S H Le Page, Building a State, Water Authority of Western Australia, Leederville, 1986
Donald S Garden, Albany, Nelson, West Melbourne, 1977
D Black and G Bolton, editors, Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia: volume one, WA, 2001
Pat Bunny, 'Wright, John Arthur (1841–1920)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wright-john-arthur-9201/text16253, published fi
