Tributes have flown in following the death of former Dawesville MP Arthur Marshall.
News broke of the 83-year-old’s passing on Thursday evening.
Mr Marshall first entered the political arena in 1990, when he ran as a Liberal in the Fremantle state by-election.
While he achieved 35.7 per cent of the vote against Labor’s Jim McGinty’s 33.75 per cent, he lost after preferences.
But that didn’t put an end to his political ambitions.
In 1993 he won the seat of Murray. A redistribution then saw him elected in the then-new seat of Dawesville in the 1996.
He was re-elected in 2001, before retiring at the 2005 election.
Politicians from both sides have recalled Mr Marshall as a “sharp leader” who “made a great contribution to our local community”.
Current Dawesville MP Zak Kirkup described Mr Marshall as warm and generous.
“Saddened to learn of the passing of Arthur Marshall OAM,” he tweeted.
“A warm, generous, sharp leader of a man, I loved listening and getting to know him.
“I will miss him. Mandurah will miss him. Western Australia will miss him.
“My deepest condolences to Helen, Dixie and the Marshall family.”
Mandurah MP David Templeman said he first met Mr Marshall when he was running for his political seat.
”Very sad to learn of the passing of Arthur Marshall, former Member for Dawesville,” he posted on Facebook.
“I first met Arthur way back in 1992 when I first ran for the seat of Mandurah.
“He won his seat of Murray, at the 1993 State Election. I lost.
“But when I won my seat on Mandurah Council in 1994 he was one of the first to congratulate me and he did the same when I was elected to State Parliament in 2001.
“Arthur made a great contribution to our local community as Member for Dawesville.
“Deepest sympathy to his wife Helen and all of his family and friends.”
WA Leader of the Opposition Mike Nahan said his thoughts were with Mr Marshall’s family at this time.
”My thoughts are with Helen, Clark, Dixie and Scott on the passing of Arthur Marshall, a great West Australian who gave so much to our state,” he tweeted.
“His contribution, across many fields from sport to philanthropy to politics, is substantial and very much appreciated.”
City of Mandurah mayor Rhys Williams said he remembered meeting Mr Marshall in year seven at Falcon Primary School.
Mr Marshall was there to present a young Mr Williams with a citizenship award, and was “a bit of an inspiration of what it means to young people when their community's leaders do that kind of stuff”.
“Arthur was a really significant contributor to this community and I think everybody who had anything to do with Arthur knows how strong of a member for Dawesville he was,” Mr Williams said.
“He was massively instrumental, especially in the sporting community and health area, so it's a sad loss for us.
“One of the awesome things which people might not have a full understanding of how instrumental he was with the footy club; getting it off the ground.
“He really was the driving force of getting Peel Thunder up and moving.
“And then obviously there was the health campus.
“Where would be without the pediatric ward and he was the face of that.”
Outside of politics, Mr Marshall was a keen sportsman.
Between 1954 and 1961 he played 20 league games for East Fremantle and would later in life serve as a football commentator with the Seven Network.
But despite this, tennis was where his heart lied and competed in Wimbledon twice – in 1955 and 1956.
He then established the Arthur Marshall Tennis Academy in 1958, which is now run by his son Scott.
