# Robert Boylen

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**Robert Joseph Boylen** (16 November 1901 – 25 June 1955) was an Australian politician. He was an [Australian Labor Party](/source/Australian_Labor_Party) member of the [Western Australian Legislative Council](/source/Western_Australian_Legislative_Council) from 1947 until his death, representing [South Province](/source/South_Province_(Western_Australia)) (1947–1950) and [South-East Province](/source/South-East_Province) (1950–1955).[1]

Boylen was born in the London suburb of [Kensington](/source/Kensington), but his family migrated to [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia) in 1903 and he was raised in [Kalgoorlie](/source/Kalgoorlie,_Western_Australia)–[Boulder](/source/Boulder,_Western_Australia). He was educated at [Christian Brothers College, Kalgoorlie](/source/John_Paul_College,_Kalgoorlie) and passed his final pharmacy examinations in 1926. He then practised in [Perth](/source/Perth) for several years at Boans' Pharmacy and then at the [Royal Perth Hospital](/source/Royal_Perth_Hospital) before returning to Boulder in 1934 and opening his own pharmacy in [Burt Street](/source/Burt_Street,_Boulder), which he would operate for the rest of his life. He was appointed a justice of the peace for the East Coolgardie district in 1938 and was a councillor for the [Municipality of Boulder](/source/Municipality_of_Boulder) from 1944 until his death; he was also a member of the Eastern Goldfields Transport Board and a committee member of the Boulder Racing Club.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Boylen was elected to the Legislative Council at a by-election on 1 February 1947 following the death of Liberal MLC [James Cornell](/source/James_Cornell). He won easily with a majority of the overall vote and nearly double the vote of his Liberal opponent, marking the first time Labor had ever held all three South Province seats.[11][12][13] An anti-communist, he claimed in 1949 that the [Communist Party of Australia](/source/Communist_Party_of_Australia) were "the tools of a foreign organisation" and that "their leaders had proved their disloyalty to this country" while blocking their access to Boulder council facilities.[14] Following a major electoral redistribution, he was easily re-elected for a full-term for [South-East Province](/source/South-East_Province) in 1950, with a more than two-to-one margin over his Liberal opponent.[15][16] In 1953, Labor won government under [Albert Hawke](/source/Albert_Hawke), and Boylen was appointed Government Whip in the Legislative Council.[17][18] He died suddenly in office in June 1955 and was buried at the Boulder Cemetery, South Boulder, Kalgoorlie.[1][19]

He married Elsie Kathleen Starr on 28 April 1928; they had four sons and one daughter.[1]

## References

1. ["Hon Robert Joseph Boylen"](https://parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/(Lookup)/0C2C9B2BA8125BE7482577E50028A52F?OpenDocument#current). *Members' biographical register*. Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2020.

1. ["Western Australia"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article170609351). *[The Advocate](/source/The_Advocate_(Melbourne))*. 10 January 1920. p. 10. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["ITEMS OF NEWS"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article34325869). *[Western Argus](/source/Western_Argus)*. 22 June 1926. p. 16. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["PRESBYTERIAN GENERAL ASSEMBLY"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article95037484). *[Kalgoorlie Miner](/source/Kalgoorlie_Miner)*. 26 May 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["ITEMS OF NEWS"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article94853682). *[Kalgoorlie Miner](/source/Kalgoorlie_Miner)*. 28 April 1938. p. 4. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["ITEMS OF NEWS"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article94807104). *[Kalgoorlie Miner](/source/Kalgoorlie_Miner)*. 6 December 1944. p. 4. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["Advertising"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article95512336). *[Kalgoorlie Miner](/source/Kalgoorlie_Miner)*. 20 July 1945. p. 6. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["TRAMWAY DISPUTE"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article95531982). *[Kalgoorlie Miner](/source/Kalgoorlie_Miner)*. 6 June 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["Friday, March 26"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39366594). *[Western Mail](/source/Western_Mail_(Western_Australia))*. 18 March 1954. p. 4 (WESTERN MAIL ROYAL TOUR Itinerary FOR W.A.). Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["CLUB TOURNAMENTS"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article95751755). *[Kalgoorlie Miner](/source/Kalgoorlie_Miner)*. 28 September 1950. p. 4. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["Three Contest By-Election"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article78551816). *[The Daily News](/source/Daily_News_(Perth,_Western_Australia))*. FIRST ed. 1 February 1947. p. 8. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67835429). *[Geraldton Guardian and Express](/source/Geraldton_Guardian)*. 6 February 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["Labor and the Upper House"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article148601418). *[Westralian Worker](/source/Westralian_Worker)*. 7 February 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. [""FOREIGN TOOLS""](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18108778). *[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald)*. 28 March 1949. p. 4. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["BIENNIAL ELECTIONS FOR UPPER HOUSE"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47846178). *[The West Australian](/source/The_West_Australian)*. 8 May 1950. p. 4. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["Goldfields Contests"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article95682582). *[Kalgoorlie Miner](/source/Kalgoorlie_Miner)*. 8 May 1950. p. 4. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["Labor's Cabinet"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article252014098). *[The Irwin Index and Victoria District Gazette](/source/The_Irwin_Index)*. 21 February 1953. p. 3. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["LABOUR CHOOSES A MINISTERIAL TEAM OF TEN"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49081362). *[The West Australian](/source/The_West_Australian)*. 19 February 1953. p. 2. Retrieved 9 January 2020. – via Trove.

1. ["Boulder Cemetery A – B New"](http://www.outbackfamilyhistory.com.au/records/record.php?record_id=739). Outback Family History. Retrieved 12 January 2020.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Robert Boylen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Boylen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Boylen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.