Mitchell first became premier in 1919 after a period of instability in state politics, governing in coalition with the Country Party despite earlier conflict.

His first term saw minor social reforms and development initiatives, but was primarily known for the Group Settlement Scheme which established the South West dairy industry.

He was the oldest of thirteen children born to Caroline (née Morgan) and William Bedford Mitchell; his father was a farm manager and grazier.

Both he and the bank prospered during the Western Australian gold rushes, with Northam serving as a key staging point on the Eastern Goldfields Railway.

[2] In parliament he "earnestly advocated agricultural settlement and deplored Western Australia's dependence on imported produce, seeking to place families on the land, particularly as the goldfields declined and miners looked elsewhere".

Mitchell as agriculture minister had presided over an expansion of the area of land under cultivation, with government support initiatives and the introduction of superphosphate pushing out the eastern boundaries of the Wheatbelt into the Yilgarn.

He was targeted by the newly formed Farmers' and Settlers' Association, which evolved into the Country Party and won eight seats at the 1914 state election.

As a result of his enthusiastic promotion of this scheme (which ultimately proved very costly in terms of money and resources) he was dubbed "Moo-Cow" Mitchell by the local press.

[1] In his first term as premier, Mitchell's attorney-general Thomas Draper introduced legislation to allow women to stand for parliament and to liberalise the state's divorce laws.

[4] In 1922, Mitchell supported Cowan's successful private member's bill to allow mothers to inherit an equal share from their children who died intestate.

He also supported her anti-sex discrimination bill to allow women to be admitted to the legal profession, although he opposed a clause eliminating the marriage bar.

The movement for secession, led by the Dominion League of Western Australia, had accelerated following the Great Depression in response to perceived inaction by the federal government, with Mitchell describing himself as a "federalist who could not pay the price".

This meant that, although he resided in Government House, Perth, and was governor in all but name, he drew no salary, thus making a reduced demand on the public purse at a time when ordinary people were under severe restraint.

[1] Mitchell died on 26 July 1951, aged 85, in his personal railway carriage while stopped at the small siding at Glen Mervyn south of Collie, while on a tour of the southwest of the state.