Septimus Burt

[1] Burt was born on 25 October 1847 at St Kitts in the West Indies, and educated at a private school at Melksham, Wiltshire, England.

[1][2] His family had been resident in the West Indies since 1635, primarily involved in administration of the Leeward Islands and in sugar plantations.

[3][4][5][6][7] In January 1861 Burt arrived in Western Australia with his parents,[2][8] and subsequently attended Hale School in Perth.

[3] He also declined several invitations to join the bench of the Supreme Court, including the position of chief justice at the request of Premier George Leake in 1901.

When Western Australia gained self-government in 1890, he was elected unopposed as the inaugural Legislative Assembly member for Ashburton, and held that seat until he retired from politics in 1900.

[1][8] In 1877 Burt formed a syndicate with John, Alexander and David Forrest and took up a 240,000-hectare (590,000-acre) lease of land on the Ashburton River.

[2] Burt married Louisa Fanny Hare (daughter of Gustavus Edward Cockburn Hare-Naylor[17] and Sarah Annie Wright) in 1872.