Edward Scott (politician)

Dr Edward Scott (5 November 1852 – 24 May 1920) was an English-born politician in Western Australia. He became a member of the Legislative Council in 1886, then when representative self-government was achieved in 1890, won the seat of Perth in the new Legislative Assembly. He was also Mayor of Perth from 1889 until 1891. A doctor by profession, he lived in Western Australia from 1875 until 1899, marrying into one of the colony's leading families and becoming involved with the socially prestigious Western Australian Turf Club.^[1]

Biography

Dr Scott was born in Axmouth, Devon, England, to John Scott, a gentleman farmer, and Anna Christiana Scott. He was educated at the nearby village of Chardstock, and then at St Thomas' Hospital in Lambeth, London, becoming a physician in 1873. He migrated to Western Australia on 27 March 1875 aboard the Julie,^[2] and practised medicine at Greenough, Guildford and Perth, becoming a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1879. Scott was also at this time a noted athlete, boxer and swimmer. He also became a member of the Western Australian Turf Club, serving as a steward and then as chairman by 1890.^[3]

On 25 February 1879, he married Anne Ellen Gull (née Dempster) (1842–1880), the widow of Legislative Councillor Thomas Gull, at Guildford; however, she died 18 months later. On 26 April 1882, he married Penelope Fanny Sholl (1856–1929) – the daughter of R.J. Sholl (1819–86) and sister of R.F. Sholl (1848–1909) – at St George's Cathedral in Perth. They had two sons and two daughters.

In February 1880 and in October 1884, Scott unsuccessfully contested the Legislative Council's seat of Perth. In 1886, Scott was appointed a Justice of the Peace, and on 15 June 1886, he won Perth in a by-election serving in that capacity until 21 October 1890. He also became the Mayor of Perth in 1889. On 10 December 1890, he became the first member for the Legislative Assembly seat of Perth. In December 1891, he completed his term as Mayor and resigned his parliamentary seat, which was won in a by-election on 12 January 1892 by Thomas Molloy. He then served as a member of the Aborigines Protection Board from 1891 until 1897.

In 1899, he returned to England and practiced medicine at Clifton, Bristol, for a number of years. He died at nearby Stoke Bishop on 24 May 1920.^[3]

One of his sons, Frank Sholl Scott, practised medicine in Cornwall and represented England at rugby union in 1907. In turn, F.S. Scott's third son, Dr. Edward Scott, also practised medicine at St Mary's Hospital and Oxford University, as well as representing England at rugby, for whom he gained five caps, two as captain.

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