State Western Australia Namesake Williams | Dates current 1890–1950 | |
Williams was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1890 to 1950.
A rural district named for the town of Williams in Western Australia's Wheatbelt region, it was one of the original 30 districts contested at the 1890 election. The name of the district was changed to Williams-Narrogin at the 1911 election, the same election which saw Bertie Johnston of the Labor Party elected as its representative. Johnston resigned from the Labor Party in December 1915 over issues with the Scaddan government, and resigned his seat in Parliament. He recontested (unopposed, as it turned out) the resulting by-election and was thus re-elected as an independent. His actions brought about the downfall of the Labor government of John Scaddan in August 1916 when it next met. Johnston briefly served as Speaker in February 1917, however, his former Labor colleagues opposed his appointment and refused to respect his authority, forcing him to resign after just a few days in favour of James Gardiner. Later in 1917, he joined the Country Party.
Williams-Narrogin was abolished ahead of the 1950 election, and was replaced by the seat of Narrogin. Sitting member Victor Doney of the Country Party transferred to the new Narrogin seat.