Philip Collier

Who was Philip Collier?

Philip Collier was Premier of Western Australia for nine years, the longest ever term for an Australian Labor Party premier.

Philip Collier was born at Woodstock near Melbourne, Victoria on 21 April 1873. The son of a farmer of the same name, he was educated locally but left school at the age of 16. He spent some time gold mining at Steiglitz, Victoria and then in New South Wales, and was later construction foreman of the Greater Melbourne Sewage Company at Northcote. On 27 June 1900, he married Ellen Heagney, with whom he would have two sons and two daughters.

Collier began to take an interest in the labor movement, joining the Labour Party and becoming founding secretary of the Northcote branch of the Political Labor Council. He was campaign director for at least three Labour candidates in State and Federal election, including Frank Anstey.

In 1904 Collier moved to Western Australia. He worked in the mines of the Perseverance Goldmining Company for around a year, becoming a member of the Boulder branch of the Amalgamated Workers' Association, and vice-president of the Goldfields Trades and Labour Council.

On 27 October 1905, Collier was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the seat of Boulder. He would retain the seat until his death nearly 43 years later. He was appointed Minister for Mines and Minister for Railways in the Scaddan Ministry on 7 October 1911, exchanging the Railways portfolio for Water Supplies on 23 November 1914. He retained these portfolios until the defeat of the Scaddan government on 17 July 1916. In April the following year, Scaddan resigned from the Australian Labor Party in support of Billy Hughes's pro-conscriptionist stance, and on 9 May Collier was elected to take his place as Leader of the Labor Party and therefore Leader of the Opposition.