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Sir Hal Pateshall Colebatch (29 March1872 – 12 February 1953) was a colourful and controversial figure in West Australian politics. His brief term as State Premier in 1919 was only an interlude, in a long political career.
The son of immigrants, Colebatch arrived at the Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie goldfields in the 1890s and went into journalism, living in a tent and sleeping in newspaper. He soon made a mark with his journalism, despite having left school at the age of 11. He was also West Australian chess champion around the turn of the century.
Colebatch entered State politics on the conservative side as an upper house member and soon became a Minister, in charge of all government business in the house. He became Premier in 1919 but resigned after only a month because he could not get a lower house seat he considered suitable.
During that time, however, Colebatch had to deal with the Spanish Flu epidemic reaching Western Australia and a serious strike on the wharves. Strikers objected to desperately-needed medical supplies being unloaded, in breach of a quarantine and by non-union labour, from the ship Dimboola. Colebatch survived a barrage of projectiles when he personally confronted the strikers. One of the strikers, Tom Edwards, was killed during a confrontation with police.
Following his stint as Premier, Colebatch occupied many ministerial positions, and as Minister for Education was responsible for Western Australia's first country high schools.
Colebatch was knighted in 1928, and the following year he was editor and co-writer of an official history of WA: A Story of a Hundred Years. He was a lifelong and sometimes very unfashionable advocate of free trade as a means of international co-operation and peace. He became Western Australia's Agent-General in London, a Federal Senator, and then Agent-General again, during which time he travelled widely in Europe and made contact with German anti-Nazis, who were trying to forestall the rise of Adolf Hitler.
An acclaimed public speaker and orator, Colebatch had many influential friends and associates including Winston Churchill. He returned to Perth in 1939 and re-entered State Parliament where he sat for several more years. He owned a small newspaper, the Northam Advertiser, and during World War II wrote leading articles for it.
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