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ABBOTT, Percy Phipps (1869–1940)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1925–29 (Australian Country Party)</span>

ABBOTT, Percy Phipps (1869–1940)
Senator for New South Wales, 1925–29 (Australian Country Party)

Percy Phipps Abbott was the first Country Party candidate from New South Wales to be elected to the Senate. He served only three and a half years as a senator, but his career as a soldier, political activist and elected representative spanned five decades. Grandson of a pioneer Tasmanian, Abbott was born on 14 May 1869, the son of John William Abbott, auctioneer, and

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ANDREW, David John (1866–1928)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1925–28 (Australian Country Party)</span>

ANDREW, David John (1866–1928)
Senator for Victoria, 1925–28 (Australian Country Party)

David Andrew’s election as a senator in 1925 points to some degree of dogged determination for it was his sixth attempt to enter Parliament either at the federal or state level. Born in Castlemaine, Victoria, on 10 November 1866, the son of James Sprunt Andrew, a stonemason and later an auctioneer, and his wife, Augusta Arabella, Andrew attended state schools before beginning a fitter’s

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BARNES, John (1868–1938)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1913–20, 1923–35 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

BARNES, John (1868–1938)
Senator for Victoria, 1913–20, 1923–35 (Australian Labor Party)

‘The story of John Barnes’, said Albert Monk, ACTU president in 1938, ‘is also the history of the Australian Labor movement’. Barnes was born on 17 July 1868 at Hamilton, near Kapunda, South Australia, son of John Thomas Barnes, a labourer from Somerset, England, and his wife Mary, née Cummeford, from County Clare, Ireland. He acquired the basic elements of a primary education and

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BARWELL, Sir Henry Newman (1877–1959)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1925–28 (Nationalist Party)</span>

BARWELL, Sir Henry Newman (1877–1959)
Senator for South Australia, 1925–28 (Nationalist Party)

Henry Newman Barwell, lawyer and premier, was born in Adelaide on 26 February 1877, the son of an Adelaide merchant, Henry Charles Barwell, and his wife Clara, née Brooke. The young Henry was educated at Whinham College and St Peter’s College, going on to Adelaide University, where he graduated in law. Barwell was articled to the firm of Wilson and Toler-Rowley and called to

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BENNY, Benjamin (1869–1935)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1920–26 (Nationalist Party)</span>

BENNY, Benjamin (1869–1935)
Senator for South Australia, 1920–26 (Nationalist Party)

Benjamin Benny, solicitor, was born on 21 October 1869 at Aldinga, South Australia. Benjamin was the eldest son of the seven children of George Benny, Free Presbyterian minister and schoolteacher, and his wife Susanna, née Anderson. Benjamin first attended Morphett Vale Public School. When his father died penniless in 1879, Benjamin’s uncle, William Steele Benny, paid for his education at Thomas Caterer’s Commercial College,

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COX, Charles Frederick (1863–1944)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1920–38 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

COX, Charles Frederick (1863–1944)
Senator for New South Wales, 1920–38 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Charles Frederick Cox (‘Fighting Charlie’), who held the men of the Australian Light Horse to be above all other soldiers, was born on 2 May 1863 at Pennant Hills, Sydney, the son of Frederick Charles Cox, butcher and later orchardist, and Eliza, née Anderson. Educated at Parramatta, Cox joined the New South Wales Government Railways in 1881 as a clerk in the traffic audit

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CRAWFORD, Thomas William (1865–1948)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1917–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Independent)</span>

CRAWFORD, Thomas William (1865–1948)
Senator for Queensland, 1917–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Independent)

Thomas William Crawford, sugar farmer, sugar industry advocate and politician, was born on 31 January 1865 at East Collingwood, Melbourne, son of Thomas and Ellen, née Lawson. Crawford senior had left Armagh, Ireland, in search of a better life in Australia. He opened a store at Woods Point on the Gippsland goldfields in Victoria, and soon after, in 1864, married the English-born Ellen. As

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DRAKE-BROCKMAN, Edmund Alfred (1884–1949)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1920–26 (Nationalist Party)</span>

DRAKE-BROCKMAN, Edmund Alfred (1884–1949)
Senator for Western Australia, 1920–26 (Nationalist Party)

Edmund Alfred Drake-Brockman, whose military, parliamentary and judicial careers were linked one to the other, was born on 21 February 1884 at Busselton, Western Australia, son of Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman, surveyor, and his wife, Grace Vernon, daughter of prominent Western Australian, A. P. Bussell. In 1875, Grace had shown great heroism when she helped save survivors from the shipwrecked Georgette. Edmund was educated at

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DUNCAN, Walter Leslie (1883–1947)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1920–31 (Nationalist Party)</span>

DUNCAN, Walter Leslie (1883–1947)
Senator for New South Wales, 1920–31 (Nationalist Party)

Duncan’s career is understandably seen within the shadows of the more powerful men he supported, first within the trade unions of the pre-war period and then, when he followed W. M. Hughes over conscription, the Nationalist Party of the 1920s. His political role was distinctive, however, and his career, relatively long within his life, extended over thirty-three years, from his first unsuccessful contest in 1907,

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ELLIOTT, Harold Edward (1878–1931)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1920–31 (Nationalist Party)</span>

ELLIOTT, Harold Edward (1878–1931)
Senator for Victoria, 1920–31 (Nationalist Party)

Harold Edward Elliott, was born at West Charlton in north-west Victoria on 19 June 1878. He was the fifth of eight children of Thomas Elliott and his wife Helen, née Janverin, who had arrived in Victoria during the gold rushes of the 1850s. Thomas and Helen, both English-born, married at St Michael’s Church of England, Talbot, in 1867 and settled in nearby Cockatoo. After

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FINDLEY, Edward (1864–1947)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1904–17, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

FINDLEY, Edward (1864–1947)
Senator for Victoria, 1904–17, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)

Edward Findley, compositor, publisher, trade unionist and company director, wasborn, probably, on 8 September 1864 at Sandhurst, Bendigo, Victoria, to Timothy Findley, engine-driver, and his wife Mary, née Toohey. Both his parents hailed from Ireland, his father from Cork and his mother from Tipperary. In 1876, at the age of twelve, he began a five-year apprenticeship as a compositor, after which he worked on

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FOLL, Hattil Spencer (1890–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1917–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

FOLL, Hattil Spencer (1890–1977)
Senator for Queensland, 1917–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

Twenty-six at the time of his election, Hattil (Harry) Spencer Foll held the record for ‘youngest senator’ until 24-year-old Bill O’Chee was appointed to fill a casual vacancy in 1990. Foll, who apparently disliked the name Hattil, was born at West Brixton, London, on 30 May 1890 to John Hattil Foll, a butcher, and Kate, née Lamb. He was their second child and was

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FOSTER, George Matthew (1884–1956)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1920–25 (Nationalist Party)</span>

FOSTER, George Matthew (1884–1956)
Senator for Tasmania, 1920–25 (Nationalist Party)

George Matthew Foster, motor mechanic, Gallipoli veteran, land agent, temperance hotel director and Baptist, was born in Adelaide on 29 January 1884, the son of George Foster, a tailor’s cutter, and hiswife Isabella, née Forscutt. George, who was probably educated in Hobart, left school to become a motor mechanic and served in World War I as a sergeant in the 3rd Light Horse Regiment.

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GARDINER, Albert (1867–1952)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1910–26, 1928 (Australian Labor Party; Progressive Labor)</span>

GARDINER, Albert (1867–1952)
Senator for New South Wales, 1910–26, 1928 (Australian Labor Party; Progressive Labor)

Albert (Jupp) Gardiner, carpenter and free trader, has the dubious distinction of holding the record for the longest speech ever made in the Federal Parliament—an all-night ‘stonewaller’ in 1918. Coincidentally, it was the youthful Albert’s resemblance to an English cricketer, one Henry Jupp, alias ‘Young Stonewall’, which led to his being dubbed ‘Jupp’ . Both Henry Jupp and his Australian namesake were broad-shouldered men

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GIBBS, William Albion (1879–1944)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1925 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GIBBS, William Albion (1879–1944)
Senator for New South Wales, 1925 (Australian Labor Party)

The Commonwealth Parliamentary handbook’sphotograph of Senator Gibbs shows a dapper figure, replete with Homburg. Gibbs was selected by the New South Wales Parliament to fill the Senate casual vacancy created by the sudden death of John Power, who had been selected after the death of Allan McDougall. Gibbs’ tenure covered less than eight months—from 1 April to 13 November 1925. His departure was marked

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GIVENS, Henry Thomas (1864–1928)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1904–28 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

GIVENS, Henry Thomas (1864–1928)
Senator for Queensland, 1904–28 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)

Henry Thomas Givens, cane-cutter, miner, journalist and President of the Senate for thirteen years, arrived in Australia in 1882. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, on 12 June 1864,the son of a farmer, Robert Givens, and his wife, Mary Ann, née White. Once in the Antipodes, young Thomas travelled north to Queensland, where he worked on the cane fields. For a period, he

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GLASGOW, Sir Thomas William (1876–1955)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1920–32 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

GLASGOW, Sir Thomas William (1876–1955)
Senator for Queensland, 1920–32 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Thomas William (Bill) Glasgow was born on 6 June 1876, at ‘Upton Bank’, Tiaro, on the Mary River, inland from Maryborough in Queensland. His father, Samuel, had come from Armagh, in Northern Ireland to the four-year-old colony in 1863. Samuel had married in 1864, but his first wife died in 1867, leaving him to bring up an infant daughter, Elizabeth. Gold was discovered at

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GRAHAM, Charles Montague (1867–1938)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GRAHAM, Charles Montague (1867–1938)
Senator for Western Australia, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)

Charles Montague Graham came to politics via ‘tailoring’ on the Western Australian goldfields. Born in 1867 at Christchurch, New Zealand, eldest son of Patrick Graham, horse trainer, Charles Montague was educated and trained as a tailor in New Zealand. In his early twenties, he migrated to the Australian goldfields and by 1892 had set up as a tailor in Pell Street, Broken Hill. He

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GRANT, Charles William (1878–1943)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1925, 1932–41 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

GRANT, Charles William (1878–1943)
Senator for Tasmania, 1925, 1932–41 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Charles William Grant, businessman, was born on 24 April 1878, at Hobart, elder son of Charles Henry Grant, engineer, businessman and MLC, and Jane, née Nicholls. Educated in Hobart at The Hutchins School, Grant worked on various mainland sheep stations for a few years, returning to Hobart to commence a business career in 1901. In time he became a partner in the dairy produce

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GRANT, John (1857–1928)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1914–20, 1923–28 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GRANT, John (1857–1928)
Senator for New South Wales, 1914–20, 1923–28 (Australian Labor Party)

Described by a Senate colleague as ‘the most ardent high priest of land values taxation that this country possesses’, John Grant, stonemason and labour activist, was born in 1857 in Abernethy, Scotland, to crofter parents, Gregor and Margaret. After completing his apprenticeship as a stonemason in Glasgow, he migrated to Australia, probably in 1880. Soon prominent in the Stonemasons’ Union in Sydney, he was

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GUTHRIE, James Francis (1872–1958)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1920–38 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

GUTHRIE, James Francis (1872–1958)
Senator for Victoria, 1920–38 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

James Francis Guthrie was born on 13 September 1872 at Rich Avon near Donald, in Victoria, the youngest son of Thomas Guthrie and Mary, née Rutherford. His parents had been pioneer pastoralists in the Northern Territory, had developed a valuable merino stud and owned extensive lands in several Australian states. After education at Geelong College James spent six years as an office boy, initially

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HANNAN, Joseph Francis (1873–1943)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1924–25 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

HANNAN, Joseph Francis (1873–1943)
Senator for Victoria, 1924–25 (Australian Labor Party)

Joseph Francis Hannan served in Parliament and the union movement at a time when such an association was electorally risky. Hannan was born probably in 1875, the son of James Hannan and Jane, née Hayes. The family arrived in Australia from the United Kingdom about 1888. After two years as a stable hand, Joseph took up his father’s trade of pipe moulder and steel

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HAYES, John Blyth (1868–1956)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1923–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

HAYES, John Blyth (1868–1956)
Senator for Tasmania, 1923–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

John Blyth Hayes, farmer, and Premier of Tasmania from 1922 to 1923, was born on 21 April 1868, at Bridgewater, Tasmania, son of Joshua John Hayes, farmer, and Elizabeth, née Blyth. He was the grandson of John Hayes, MHA, and both cousin and brother-in-law of E. F. B. Blyth, MHA, who would later serve in his ministry. John Blyth was educated by his mother,

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HAYS, Herbert Ephraim Digby (1869–1960)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1923–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

HAYS, Herbert Ephraim Digby (1869–1960)
Senator for Tasmania, 1923–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

Herbert Ephraim Digby Hays, farmer, was born on 20 September 1869 at Forth, Tasmania, one of the twelve children of Frederick Henry Hays, a farmer, and Harriet Rebecca, née Digby. He was educated locally and took up farming as a young man. On 21 June 1900, Hays married Patience Elizabeth Mills, also born in Forth, the daughter of Alexander Rudd Mills, a farmer, and

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HOARE, Albert Alfred (1874–1962)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1922–35 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

HOARE, Albert Alfred (1874–1962)
Senator for South Australia, 1922–35 (Australian Labor Party)

The Hoare family was early represented in South Australia, the first white child born in Adelaide reputedly being of that name. Albert Alfred Hoare[1] was born at Alberton, near Port Adelaide, on 22 November 1874, the son of Edward Hoare, labourer, and Mary, née Kempt. His was the first generation of South Australians to benefit from the introduction of free, secular and compulsory education

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KINGSMILL, Sir Walter (1864–1935)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1923–35 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

KINGSMILL, Sir Walter (1864–1935)
Senator for Western Australia, 1923–35 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Sir Walter Kingsmill, distinguished Western Australian parliamentarian and President of the Senate, started his working life as a geologist, prospector and mine manager. He was born on 10 April 1864 at Glenelg in South Australia, son of Walter Kingsmill, pastoralist, and his wife Jane Elizabeth, née Haslam. He was educated at the Collegiate School of St Peter in Adelaide, and at the University of

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LYNCH, Patrick Joseph (1867–1944)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1907–38 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

LYNCH, Patrick Joseph (1867–1944)
Senator for Western Australia, 1907–38 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Patrick Joseph Lynch, shearer, miner, seaman, engine-driver, trade unionist and farmer, was born on 24 May 1867 at Skearke, Moynalty, Kells, County Meath, Ireland, the youngest of eight children, to Michael Lynch, farmer, and his wife Bridget, née Cahill. Patrick’s family had farmed their 17-acre property for several generations. It was here in this close-knit rural community at the Newcastle end of Moynalty parish,

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MASSY-GREENE, Sir Walter (1874–1952)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1923–38 (Nationalist Party)</span>

MASSY-GREENE, Sir Walter (1874–1952)
Senator for New South Wales, 1923–38 (Nationalist Party)

Walter Massy-Greene’s name did not officially include a hyphen until March 1933. Prior to that date, anyone searching for him in Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates will find him under the name of ‘Greene’. He was born on 6 November 1874 at Grove Lane, Camberwell, Surrey, England, the second son of Julia Eamer, née Sandeman, and John Greene, who variously described himself as a brewer and

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McHUGH, Charles Stephen (1887–1927)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1923–27 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McHUGH, Charles Stephen (1887–1927)
Senator for South Australia, 1923–27 (Australian Labor Party)

Charles Stephen McHugh, trade union official, was born in Adelaide, South Australia, on 23 April 1887, the son of Edward McHugh, an ostler and labourer, and Annie, née McNamara. He was educated at Adelaide Christian Brothers College, a contemporary remembering him as ‘reticent [and] self‑contained’,[1] but also highly articulate. McHugh was an accomplished athlete in his early years, but his strongest interests at school

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MILLEN, John Dunlop (1877–1941)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1920–38 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

MILLEN, John Dunlop (1877–1941)
Senator for Tasmania, 1920–38 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

John Dunlop Millen, mining engineer, was born on 3 May 1877, at Londonderry, Ireland, son of John Millen, draper, and Kate, née Dickson. In 1884 the family migrated to Queensland where Millen senior established himself as a draper in Toowoomba. The younger John was educated at Toowoomba Grammar School, after which he obtained a diploma from Sydney Technical College. Millen secured the position of

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NEEDHAM, Edward (1874–1956)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1907–20, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

NEEDHAM, Edward (1874–1956)
Senator for Western Australia, 1907–20, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)

Edward (Ted) Needham was born at Ormskirk in Lancashire, probably on 30 September 1874. His parents were Patrick Needham, a labourer, and Margaret, née Fahy, both of Irish Roman Catholic background. Ted Needham was very short of stature. During his years in the Senate, he and another Labor senator, Arthur Rae, used to ridicule each other’s lack of height. Once, when asked by a

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NEWLANDS, Sir John (1864–1932)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1913–32 (Australian Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

NEWLANDS, Sir John (1864–1932)
Senator for South Australia, 1913–32 (Australian Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

John Newlands, railwayman, advocate for the Northern Territory and President of the Senate at the opening of Parliament House in Canberra in 1927, was born on 4 August 1864, at Dallaschyle, near Cawdor, Nairnshire, Scotland, the son of an agricultural labourer, Andrew Newlands, and his wife, Ann. John used the name ‘Newland’ until May 1926 when he changed his name by deed poll to

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O’LOGHLIN, James Vincent (1852–1925)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1907, 1913–20, 1923–25 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

O’LOGHLIN, James Vincent (1852–1925)
Senator for South Australia, 1907, 1913–20, 1923–25 (Australian Labor Party)

James Vincent O’Loghlin, the only senator to be on active service in World War I, was born at Gumeracha, in the Adelaide Hills, on 25 November 1852, the son of James O’Loghlin and his wife Susan, née Kennedy. His father, who was a farmer, had emigrated to South Australia from County Clare, Ireland, in 1840. O’Loghlin spent the first half of his life in

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OGDEN, James Ernest (1868–1932)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1923–32 (Australian Labor Party; Independent; Nationalist Party)</span>

OGDEN, James Ernest (1868–1932)
Senator for Tasmania, 1923–32 (Australian Labor Party; Independent; Nationalist Party)

James Ernest Ogden, miner, unionist and man of independent spirit, was born at Durdidwarrah, near Geelong, Victoria, on 8 March 1868, son of Robert Ogden, miner and farmer, and Hannah, née Fenby. Educated at Steiglitz State School, James later worked for his father growing grain and raising pigs, and also began training as a primary schoolteacher, though he never practised as a teacher due

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PAYNE, Herbert James Mockford (1866–1944)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1920–38 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

PAYNE, Herbert James Mockford (1866–1944)
Senator for Tasmania, 1920–38 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Herbert James Mockford Payne was born at Hobart on 17 August 1866, son of Henry Payne, a gardener, and his wife Hannah, née Reed. Educated at the Central State School in Hobart, he married Margaret Annie Stones, at Ulverstone, on 18 January 1888 under Congregational forms, and by the end of that year was a draper’s assistant in Burnie. Soon he established his own

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PEARCE, Sir George Foster (1870–1952)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1901–38 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

PEARCE, Sir George Foster (1870–1952)
Senator for Western Australia, 1901–38 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Sir George Foster Pearce, carpenter and trade union leader, was born on 14 January 1870 at Mount Barker, South Australia, one of ten children of James Pearce, a blacksmith who had emigrated from Cornwall, and his wife Jane, née Foster, of London. He left school at eleven and became a farm worker, but after several unhappy years on the land, he began a carpentry

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PLAIN, William (1868–1961)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1917–23, 1925–38 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

PLAIN, William (1868–1961)
Senator for Victoria, 1917–23, 1925–38 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

William Plain, farmer, was born in Howford, Peeblesshire, Scotland, on 11 March 1868, the eldest son of James Plain, ploughman, and his wife Christina, née Naismyth. At age thirteen William began work as a ploughboy. In 1890 he arrived in Australia and settled in Victoria where he remained, except for two years from 1897 when he worked in Western Australia. He was a sharefarmer

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POWER, John Maurice (1883–1925)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1924–25 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

POWER, John Maurice (1883–1925)
Senator for New South Wales, 1924–25 (Australian Labor Party)

‘Jack’ Power, labour reformer, was a senator who never was. Only forty when chosen by the New South Wales Parliament to fill a casual vacancy caused by the death of Senator Allan McDougall in October 1924, Power died two months later, before taking his seat. Had he lived, he would have been a senator only until June 1926, since he had not been selected for

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REID, Matthew (1856–1947)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1917–35 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

REID, Matthew (1856–1947)
Senator for Queensland, 1917–35 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Matthew Reid was born at Dalmellington, Ayrshire, Scotland, on 30 September 1856; only the name of his mother, Elizabeth Reid, is known. In his early years Reid worked as a carpenter, serving his apprenticeship in Glasgow and working in London, where he married Mary Smart on 24 June 1879. He joined the Amalgamated Carpenters’ Union, and was a member of Henry Hyndman’s Social Democratic

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RUSSELL, Edward John (1878–1925)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1907–25 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist)</span>

RUSSELL, Edward John (1878–1925)
Senator for Victoria, 1907–25 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist)

Socialist firebrand and federal minister, Edward John Russell, was born on 10 August 1878 at Warrnambool, Victoria, the son of Joseph Russell, a baker born in Ireland, and his wife, Melbourne-born Mary Frances, née Conway. Russell arrived in Melbourne with his family in 1890, during the great maritime strike, and was educated at Newport State School and St Mary’s Roman Catholic school at Williamstown.

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SAMPSON, Burford (1882–1959)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1925–38, 1941–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

SAMPSON, Burford (1882–1959)
Senator for Tasmania, 1925–38, 1941–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

Burford Sampson, soldier, businessman and public servant, was born at Launceston, Tasmania, on 30 March 1882, son of Joseph Tasker Sampson and his wife, Emily Louisa, née Pollard, both of whom hailed from Yorkshire and had come to Tasmania with their respective parents. Joseph Sampson, a grocer whose business was in Brisbane Street, Launceston, died when Burford was five years old. Burford attended the

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THOMAS, Josiah (1863–1933)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1917–23, 1925–29 (Nationalist Party)</span>

THOMAS, Josiah (1863–1933)
Senator for New South Wales, 1917–23, 1925–29 (Nationalist Party)

Josiah Thomas, miner, Wesleyan lay preacher, temperance man and federal minister, was born in Camborne, Cornwall, England, on 28 April 1863, the son of Josiah Thomas and his wife Ann, née Rablin. As a boy, Josiah accompanied his father, probably a mine manager, to the Mexican silver mines. Largely self-educated, the young Thomas worked in the Cornish mines. He seems to have arrived in

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THOMPSON, William George (1863–1953)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1922–32 (Nationalist Party)</span>

THOMPSON, William George (1863–1953)
Senator for Queensland, 1922–32 (Nationalist Party)

William George Thompson, businessman and soldier, was born on 2 March 1863 at Lurgan, Armagh, Ireland, the son of William, fencing contractor, and Isabella, née Campbell. The family migrated to Rockhampton when William was fourteen months old. After attending Rockhampton North State School Thompson started work as an office boy with the wine and spirit merchant, W. Jackson. He attended night classes and by

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WILSON, Sir Reginald Victor (1877–1957)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1920–26 (Nationalist Party)</span>

WILSON, Sir Reginald Victor (1877–1957)
Senator for South Australia, 1920–26 (Nationalist Party)

Reginald Victor Wilson, businessman, was born at Adelaide on 30 June 1877 to James Wilson and Elizabeth Ann, née Tonkin. Wilson was educated at Riverton, where his father was a storekeeper, and Whinham College, North Adelaide. He left school at fourteen to work in stores at Happy Valley and later at Port Pirie. From 1898, he owned shops at Broken Hill and Adelaide, becoming

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