AGY-4934 | Royal Commission of Inquiry into the State Wheat Pool

Full description

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Administration of the State Wheat Office was presided over by Mr Justice Robert Darlow Pring. The Commission was directed to inquire into the circumstances surrounding a contract dated 20 February 1919, for the sale of 1916-17 wheat to George Georgeson, and also to investigate the receipt, management, control, sales, and other dispositions by the State Wheat Office or the Department of Agriculture in 1915-16 and subsequent years, including all payments, liabilities, and transactions.(1)

A further Commission, dated 23 September 1919, was issued to inquire into whether money invested by the Honorable William Calman Grahame, Minister for Agriculture, was obtained improperly.(2)

A few days after the commencement of the Inquiry Mr Justice Pring was informed that Mr Georgeson had become seriously ill, which resulted in evidence for that part of the Inquiry being temporarily suspended.(3)

The Inquiry was subsequently extended, and the Final Report of Mr Justice Pring (dated 9 December 1921) was  tabled before the Legislative Assembly on 13 December 1921 by the Premier). It found  no suggestion of wrong-doing on the part of Mr Georgeson, and although there were suspicions of improper dealings on the part of his partner John James Talbot, no evidence was found. The Report also found that the explanation given for the investments of Mr William Calman Grahame could not be disproved.(4)


Endnotes
1.Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Administration of the State Wheat Office, Parliamentary Papers 1920, Second Session Vol 1, p.221
2.ibid
3.ibid, p.222
4.Records of the Commission, 1919-21, Premier’s Special bundle, 7/5928