Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council, 1832–1870

These official positions were: the Governor, the Commandant, the Colonial Secretary, the Surveyor-General and the Advocate-General.

In 1839 provision was made for the addition of four non-official nominee positions on the Legislative Council.

This permission was received in September 1867, but the Governor then went further by allowing the colony to informally elect six persons whom he would then nominate to the Legislative Council.

The Champion Bay district, which had led the push for representative government, refused to participate in what it saw as a sham election, so the Governor nominated to the final seat his ally John Wall Hardey, who had polled only four votes in the Guildford district election.

This arrangement prevailed until July 1870, when the Legislative Council was reconstituted under a system of representative government.