Background
William Dartnell Johnson was born on 9 October 1870 in Whanganui, New Zealand. His father was George Groheim Johnson, a plumber, and his mother, Elizabeth Ann McCormish.
William Dartnell Johnson was born on 9 October 1870 in Whanganui, New Zealand. His father was George Groheim Johnson, a plumber, and his mother, Elizabeth Ann McCormish.
He went to the Turakina State School in Turakina until the age of thirteen. From the age of thirteen to the age of sixteen, he worked in a post office. He then worked as a carpenter, emigrating to Western Australia in 1894, at the age of twenty-four.
A year later, he moved to the Goldfields, settling in Kalgoorlie.
There, he founded the Kalgoorlie branch of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, and he served as its first President. He also helped establish the Kalgoorlie, Boulder and District Trades and Labor Council, and served as its secretary for two years.
He then served as the first business manager of the Westralian Worker, a newspaper in Kalgoorlie. From 1901 to 1905, he served as the Labor Modern Language Association for the Electoral district of Kalgoorlie in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.
During his tenure, he spearheaded the Midland Railway Workshops.
In 1904, he served as Western Australia"s Minister for Works, and later as regional Minister for Mines and Railways. He then became the leader of the Western Australian Labor Party, but quit his role in October 1905. From 1906 to 1917, he served as Modern Language Association for the Electoral district of Guildford in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.
In October 1911, he began a term as Minister for Works, and from November 1914 he served as Minister for Lands and Agriculture.
In the assembly, his proposal to build a railway line going North from Esperance, Western Australia rejected. In January 1915, he helped pass the Industries Assistance Acting to help farmers whose livelihood had been jeopardized by the recent drought.
However, he lost his ministerial portfolio as a result of the Nevanas affair. Moreover, he lost his seat in the assembly to Joseph Davies (1866-1954) as a result of his opposition to the conscription of Western Australians in the First World War.
From 1924 to 1930, he served again as Modern Language Association for the Electoral district of Guildford in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, and from 1930 to 1940 as Modern Language Association for the Electoral district of Guildford-Midland.
He also served as Speaker of the Assembly from August 1938 to August 1939, and as Chairman of the parliamentary party from 1924 to 1948. He was a freemason. Personal life
Death
He died on 26 January 1948, and he was buried in the Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth.
He was a "state socialist" and rejected the proposed secession of Western Australia.
He became a member of the Australian Labor Party.