Sir Charles Walter Michael Court AK KCMG OBE (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was an Australian politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 8 April 1974 to 25 January 1982.

During World War II, Court served in the Second Australian Imperial Force in Bougainville Island, which earned him an Order of the British Empire.

During his eight years as premier, Court continued to promote mining and industry, focusing on the North West Shelf Venture, an oil and gas project off the north-west coast of the state.

Other controversies included an amendment to the Police Act to prevent gatherings of more than three people in a public place and the closure of the Fremantle railway line in 1979.

One time, when Walter's pay stopped coming through, Charles was sent down to the Perth Trades Hall to give a note to the union secretary.

In 1921, the Court family purchased and moved into a house in West Subiaco (now Shenton Park), using a War Service Homes Scheme loan.

When he was 15, the secretary of the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra asked the patron, Sir William Campion, who was also the governor of Western Australia, to put in a good word, which resulted in Court gaining a job as an office boy for law firm Robinson Cox & Wheatley.

[23] It was around this time that Court developed a negative opinion of trade unions, which he believed to be intolerant of his clients such as bank managers and creditors.

[28] Their first son, Victor Charles, was born on 13 February 1938, followed by Barrymore (Barry) Michael on 23 March 1941, Kenneth Walter on 11 December 1943, Richard Fairfax on 27 September 1947, and Geoffrey William on 30 May 1949.

[33] Court volunteered to join the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in January 1940, but was rejected due to manpower restrictions as he was an accountant.

[37] Court was asked to assess whether the region could cope with large numbers of US and Australian troops if General Douglas MacArthur chose to launch an invasion from Darwin to win back the Philippines.

Court's commanding officer, Arthur Allen, praised the report but Blamey said launching from the Northern Territory would be the worst option as it would be slow and cost many lives and much money.

Court went on some of the supply drops himself so that he "let the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) and Army crews know I was interested in their work and conscious of the danger and responsibility that was theirs when undertaking these missions".

In the electoral district of Nedlands, Court's future seat, long time Liberal MLA Norbert Keenan was not re-endorsed, so he ran as an independent candidate.

[48] Grayden soon introduced a private member's bill called "The Protection of Trade Act 1951", which was supported by Labor and the CDL but not the Liberals, and worried businessmen.

Court was asked to stand as a candidate by a deputation of a dozen businessmen, including Lance Brisbane, Harry Hearn, and Fred Johnston, but declined.

Court was reluctant to stand as a candidate, as his business career would be put on hold, but he eventually agreed, promising to leave politics after two terms, or six years, in parliament.

[79] Court negotiated with the Commonwealth government in 1963 for several variations to the agreement, including the route through the Avon Valley, through the Perth metropolitan area, and near Koolyanobbing.

The Whitlam government's minister for minerals and energy, Rex Connor, was opposed to foreign investment in resource extraction, and wanted the distribution of natural gas to be nationalised.

[105] Court met with Gough Whitlam and Connor several times in an attempt to convince them to hand back control of the offshore reserves to the state, but they did not budge from their position.

He managed to convince them to sign the permits,[107] and by the end of the year, the Whitlam government was dismissed and the Liberal Party had won the resulting election.

[113] The joint venture partners had trouble coming to an agreement with the Japanese power companies they intended to export liquified natural gas (LNG) to.

The Crown Solicitor agreed with the Aboriginal Legal Service, however Court disagreed, saying that "we will have all sorts of 'sacred sites' coming up every time we want to move in these areas".

[123] In June 1979, upon arriving at Noonkanbah station, Amax and the Mines Department found that the Yungngora community had locked the gates and there were 40 people blocking access as well.

[118][123] Days later, the Aboriginal Legal Service obtained an interim injunction from the Supreme Court of Western Australia barring drilling from going ahead.

[139] The election resulted in the Liberal Party losing one seat to Labor: Ernie Bridge defeated Alan Ridge to win the electoral district of Kimberley.

[144] These MPs knew they would not be able to defeat Court in a leadership spill, so they aimed to cause instability in the party to change public opinion.

[152] In April 1982, Court opened an office in the Perpetual Trustees Building on St George's Terrace to provide advice to small and large businesses.

[160] Victor Court attempted to enter politics by contesting the 1990 senate vacancy caused by the resignation of Fred Chaney, but was beat in Liberal preselection by Ian Campbell.

[177][178] The statue was commissioned by Labor premier Alan Carpenter in 2008 after Court died;[179] It cost $483,000 to build and was designed by artist Tony Jones.