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SHEEHAN, James Michael (1885–1967)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1938–40, 1944–62 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

SHEEHAN, James Michael (1885–1967)
Senator for Victoria, 1938–40, 1944–62 (Australian Labor Party)

James Michael Sheehan was born at Clinkers Hill, Castlemaine, in central Victoria, on 24 July 1885, son of Michael Sheehan, blacksmith, a native of Limerick, Ireland, and Ellen, née Firminger. Jim, as he was called, attended St Mary’s Catholic school until, at the age of thirteen, he was employed on the Victorian railways. Under the influence of local railway unionist, Tom Hendra, Sheehan became

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RANKIN, George James (1887–1957)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1950–56 (Australian Country Party)</span>

RANKIN, George James (1887–1957)
Senator for Victoria, 1950–56 (Australian Country Party)

George James Rankin was a soldier first and a politician second. In some ways he was representative of the politics of his day. His status as a soldier—indeed a war hero—gave him an advantage in gaining entry into the federal Parliament during the late 1930s. Rankin was born on 1 May 1887 at Bamawm, a tiny hamlet near the town of Rochester in northern

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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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LECKIE, John William (1872–1947)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1935–47 (United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

LECKIE, John William (1872–1947)
Senator for Victoria, 1935–47 (United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

John William Leckie, son of James Leckie, butcher, and Mary, née Reilly, was born at Alexandra, Victoria, on 14 October 1872. He had a long parliamentary career serving in the Victorian Legislative Assembly and both houses of the Commonwealth Parliament, but he first achieved prominence as an athlete and footballer. He was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, where he captained the football team and

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LAWSON, Sir Harry Sutherland Wightman (1875–1952)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1929–35 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

LAWSON, Sir Harry Sutherland Wightman (1875–1952)
Senator for Victoria, 1929–35 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Harry Sutherland Lawson was born on 5 March 1875 at Dunolly, Victoria, the only surviving son of John Wightman Lawson, Presbyterian minister from Scotland, and Penelope Bell, née Hawkins. He was educated at Castlemaine Grammar School, and in 1891 at Scotch College, Melbourne, where he read the lessons regularly as befitted ‘a son of the Manse’. In 1892, he was articled to F. K. Best, Castlemaine

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KEANE, Richard Valentine (1881–1946)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1938-46 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

KEANE, Richard Valentine (1881–1946)
Senator for Victoria, 1938-46 (Australian Labor Party)

Richard Valentine Keane, railways clerk, union leader, Minister for Trade and Customs and Leader of the Government in the Senate, was born at Beechworth, Victoria, on 14 February 1881. He was the son of Timothy Keane, police constable, born in County Kerry, Ireland, and his wife Hanorah, née O’Sullivan, born in County Tipperary. An uncle had fought as a brevet major in the American

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KATZ, Frederick Carl (1877–1960)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

KATZ, Frederick Carl (1877–1960)
Senator for Victoria, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)

Frederick Carl Katz was born in Adelaide on 21 May 1877, the son of Carl August, a goldsmith and jeweller, and Jane, née Wiltshire. Carl (or Charles, as he became known) was a French-born German who arrived in Adelaide on board the Northern Monarch in 1876. Fred’s family moved to Victoria in the late 1880s, and settled in Melbourne. In 1899 Fred was working

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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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GIBSON, William Gerrand (1869–1955)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1935-47 (Australian Country Party)</span>

GIBSON, William Gerrand (1869–1955)
Senator for Victoria, 1935-47 (Australian Country Party)

William Gerrand Gibson, farmer and storekeeper, was born at Gisborne, Victoria, on 19 May 1869, the son of Scottish‑born parents, David Gibson, a farmer, and his wife Grace, née Gerrand. Gibson was educated locally, then farmed with his father before setting up on his own as a storekeeper at Romsey and Lancefield. Becoming a successful businessman, Gibson turned his attention to public affairs, serving

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FRASER, Alexander John (1892–1965)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1946 (Australian Country Party)</span>

FRASER, Alexander John (1892–1965)
Senator for Victoria, 1946 (Australian Country Party)

For a number of senators, a career in the Commonwealth Parliament has followed one in a state Parliament, but for Senator Alexander Fraser the reverse was the case. A senator for only four months, Fraser went on to a distinguished career in the Victorian Parliament. Alexander John Fraser was born at Fairfield, Melbourne, on 22 August 1892, the son of Scottish‑born parents, Simon Fraser,

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ELLIOTT, Robert Charles Dunlop (1884–1950)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1929–35 (Australian Country Party)</span>

ELLIOTT, Robert Charles Dunlop (1884–1950)
Senator for Victoria, 1929–35 (Australian Country Party)

Robert Charles Dunlop Elliott (known as R. D.) was a businessman and newspaper proprietor, active in Country Party politics. He was born on 28 October 1884 at Kyneton, central Victoria, the fourth surviving child of Robert Cochrane Elliott, a grocer from Northumberland, England, who fell on hard times, and his wife, Maria Jeanette, née Williamson, a native of Inverness, Scotland. Young Robert received a rudimentary

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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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DEVLIN, John Joseph (1898–1957)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1946–57 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

DEVLIN, John Joseph (1898–1957)
Senator for Victoria, 1946–57 (Australian Labor Party)

John Joseph Devlin, farmer, was born on 6 June 1898 at Violet Town, in north‑eastern Victoria, son of John Devlin, an Irish Catholic farmer and pioneer of the Benalla district, and Bidelia, née Fitzgerald. Young Jack attended Tamleugh and Tamleugh North state schools, and was introduced to farming at a young age. He was a keen sportsman, participating in, and later officiating for, many

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CAMERON, Donald James (1878–1962)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1938–62 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

CAMERON, Donald James (1878–1962)
Senator for Victoria, 1938–62 (Australian Labor Party)

As a young man in Melbourne, Don Cameron, replete with red tie, could be seen boating on the Yarra. Sixty when he took his seat in the Senate in 1938, he left reluctantly in 1962, at eighty-four the oldest man in the federal Parliament, compelled by ill health to abandon plans for a fifth term. Once described as a ‘mild chap’ with an ‘engaging

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BRENNAN, Thomas Cornelius (1867–1944)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1931–38 (United Australia Party)</span>

BRENNAN, Thomas Cornelius (1867–1944)
Senator for Victoria, 1931–38 (United Australia Party)

Thomas Cornelius Brennan, the seventh of the eleven children of Michael Brennan and Mary, née Maher, was born in Sedgwick, Victoria, probably in 1867. His father, who was of Irish descent, was a farmer at Maryvale, Upper Emu Creek, near Bendigo; he was three times president, and then secretary, of Strathfieldsaye Shire. Thomas and his younger brother Frank would both enter the law and

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BRAND, Charles Henry (1873–1961)
Senator for Victoria, 1935–47 (United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

Charles Hayman (Henry) Brand, schoolteacher and army officer, was born on 4 September 1873 at Mount Radford Reserve, Ipswich, Queensland, son of Charles Hayman Brand, farmer, of Devon, England, and his wife Elizabeth, née Elliott, of Londonderry, Ireland. Educated at state schools in Maryborough and Bundaberg, young Charles joined the Department of Public Instruction on 8 November 1887 as a pupil-teacher. He taught initially

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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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WORDSWORTH, Robert Hurley (1894–1984)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1950–59 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

WORDSWORTH, Robert Hurley (1894–1984)
Senator for Tasmania, 1950–59 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Robert Hurley Wordsworth, army officer, civil administrator and farmer, who confessed to entering politics as an ‘afterthought’, was born on 21 July 1894 at Collarenebri, New South Wales, son of William Henry Wordsworth, storekeeper, and Robena, née Walker.[1] William later became a pastoralist in the Cowra district. Robert was educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School (1908-10), where he was a military cadet.

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WARDLAW, Robert (1888–1964)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1953–62 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

WARDLAW, Robert (1888–1964)
Senator for Tasmania, 1953–62 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Robert Wardlaw, primary producer, storeowner and businessman, was born on 4 August 1888, the son of James Bennett Wardlaw and Dora Dove, née Miller, at Avoca, near the Tasmanian goldmining town of Mathinna. As Robert’s nephew, Jim, has commented, the mine ‘was the town, that was it!’ James Wardlaw, a sheep farmer, had moved there to mine, although it is difficult to determine the

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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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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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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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MURRAY, Reginald James (1906–1962)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MURRAY, Reginald James (1906–1962)
Senator for Tasmania, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)

Reginald James Murray was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 27 April 1906 to Walter James Murray, a commercial traveller, and Nellie, née Miller. Walter Murray’s birthplace was Edinburgh; Nellie was born in Hobart. After Reginald’s birth, the family moved to Brisbane, Queensland, and later to Hobart, Tasmania, where Reg (as he came to be known) developed the ‘natural curiosity . . . of

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MORROW, William (1888–1980)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1947–53 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MORROW, William (1888–1980)
Senator for Tasmania, 1947–53 (Australian Labor Party)

William (Bill) Morrow, railwayman, union official and peace activist, was born on 22 October 1888 at Rockhampton, Queensland, the fourth of eleven children of William Morrow, railwayman, and his wife Amelia, née Greenhalgh. When Bill was nine the family, who had lived in various towns and camps in central Queensland, moved north to Mareeba, where Morrow senior was employed as a permanent-way inspector on

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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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LAMP, Charles Adcock (1895–1972)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1938–50 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

LAMP, Charles Adcock (1895–1972)
Senator for Tasmania, 1938–50 (Australian Labor Party)

Charles Adcock Lamp was born in Hobart on 3 September 1895. His father was John Frederick August Lamp, the son of a German naval storeman who deserted his ship and settled at York, in Adelaide, before moving to Linda Valley and Queenstown, Tasmania, where he worked in the mines. His mother was Rosina, ‘daughter of Mr Fewkes’. Charles was educated at a state school

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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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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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GUY, James Allan (1890–1979)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1950–56 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

GUY, James Allan (1890–1979)
Senator for Tasmania, 1950–56 (Liberal Party of Australia)

James Allan Guy, butcher, union official and parliamentarian for thirty years, was born at Launceston on 30 November 1890, to James Guy, blacksmith and politician, and Margaret, née McElwee, sister of G. J. McElwee, MLC. Father and son would have much in common. Both were active in the ALP, became Tasmanian MHAs and represented Tasmania in the Senate. The father played a controversial role in the

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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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DARCEY, Richard John (1870–1944)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1938–44 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

DARCEY, Richard John (1870–1944)
Senator for Tasmania, 1938–44 (Australian Labor Party)

Richard John Darcey was born on 26 February 1870 at Launceston, Tasmania, son of Thomas, a shoemaker, and Catherine, née Lane. After primary school, he was apprenticed to the Launceston jewellers, F. and W. Stewart, with whom he worked for eighteen years. He then moved to Hobart, where he worked for a time with Golding and Son before setting up his own jeweller’s shop

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CHAMBERLAIN, John Hartley (1884–1953)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1951–53 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

CHAMBERLAIN, John Hartley (1884–1953)
Senator for Tasmania, 1951–53 (Liberal Party of Australia)

John (Jack) Hartley Chamberlain was born at Manchester, England, on 29 April 1884, the son of John, linen draper, and Alice, née Hartley. The family migrated to Tasmania the next year, arriving in Hobart on the Arawa in February 1886. In 1890 they moved to Latrobe, in the island’s north-west, where John Chamberlain served as a Baptist minister between 1890 and 1895 (he was

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WILSON, Sir Keith Cameron (1900–1987)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1938–44 (United Australia Party)</span>

WILSON, Sir Keith Cameron (1900–1987)
Senator for South Australia, 1938–44 (United Australia Party)

Keith Cameron (K. C.) Wilson was born on 3 September 1900 at East Adelaide, South Australia, to Algernon Theodore King Wilson and his wife, Lillian Charlotte, née Laurence. Keith Cameron’s great-grandfather, Thomas Wilson, who migrated to South Australia from England, was a solicitor, as were his grandfather and father. K. C. himself, and his two sons, would enter the law. The family were also staunch

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WARD, Frederick Furner (1872–1954)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

WARD, Frederick Furner (1872–1954)
Senator for South Australia, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)

Frederick Furner Ward, businessman, socialist, union official and Labor functionary, earned several distinctions throughout his long and busy life. Dogged and loyal, he tried unsuccessfully to win a seat in Parliament for the Labor Party in South Australia for nearly forty years (1909–46). For most of that time he was active in the state branch of the party in one or other capacity, including

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UPPILL, Oliver (1876–1946)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1935–44 (United Australia Party)</span>

UPPILL, Oliver (1876–1946)
Senator for South Australia, 1935–44 (United Australia Party)

Oliver Uppill, farmer, was born at his father’s farm at Nantawarra, South Australia, on 9 May 1876, the second of four sons and five daughters born to Robert Uppill and his wife Olivia, née Plush. The Uppills were a pioneering Methodist farming family with many ties in the district. The Uppill children were educated at Balaklava Public School and privately. Balaklava, the centre of

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RYAN, John Victor (1890–1974)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1950–59 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

RYAN, John Victor (1890–1974)
Senator for South Australia, 1950–59 (Australian Labor Party)

John Victor Ryan, baker, footballer and trade union official, was called John Lattin at the time of his birth on 2 December 1890 at the Destitute Asylum, Adelaide. He was the son of Rose Lattin. Later Rose married John Ryan, a labourer, her son taking the surname of Ryan. Six years after becoming a senator, John Victor Ryan established his name by deed poll. John Victor,

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PEARSON, Rex Whiting (1905–1961)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1951–61 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

PEARSON, Rex Whiting (1905–1961)
Senator for South Australia, 1951–61 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Rex Whiting Pearson, farmer and politician, was born at ‘Rutland Farm’, Tiparra, south of Kadina, upper Yorke Peninsula, on 13 January 1905, eldest of four sons of Thomas William Pearson and his wife, Julia Adams, née Rowe. The family, staunch Methodists like so many in that part of South Australia, share-farmed at Sandilands, south-east of Maitland, and Rex and his brother Glen attended local

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O’HALLORAN, Michael Raphael (1893–1960)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1928–35 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

O’HALLORAN, Michael Raphael (1893–1960)
Senator for South Australia, 1928–35 (Australian Labor Party)

Michael Raphael O’Halloran, who travelled the outback to meet and make friends with swagmen, labourers, railway men and graziers, once said that it was easy ‘for a man to be a politician’, but ‘hard for a politician to be a man’. He was born on 12 April 1893 at Yanyarrie, near Carrieton in South Australia. His father, James Andrew O’Halloran, was a farmer of

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O’FLAHERTY, Sidney Wainman (1886–1967)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1944–62 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

O’FLAHERTY, Sidney Wainman (1886–1967)
Senator for South Australia, 1944–62 (Australian Labor Party)

A Labor man who believed in ‘the gospel of socialism’, and who affirmed that it had been his lifelong theme to obtain social justice for the workers, Sid O’Flaherty was once expelled from the South Australian Labor Party. A decade later he was the party’s state president, a member of the Federal Executive, and number one on the ticket for the Senate, where he

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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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McLEAY, George (1892–1955)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1935–47, 1950–55 (United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

McLEAY, George (1892–1955)
Senator for South Australia, 1935–47, 1950–55 (United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

George McLeay, company director and federal minister, was born on 6 August 1892 at Port Clinton, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. He was one of six children, four sons and two daughters, of George McLeay, farmer, and Marguaretta, née Barton. Young George was educated first at Port Clinton and later in Adelaide at Unley Public School. He completed a commercial course at Muirden College and

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McLACHLAN, James (1870–1956)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1935–47 (United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

McLACHLAN, James (1870–1956)
Senator for South Australia, 1935–47 (United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

Senator James McLachlan had community spirit and public service in his blood. A successful rural businessman, he was born on 12 March 1870, at Alma Plains, South Australia, the son of James McLachlan, farmer, and his wife Catherine, née McColl, both from Scotland. Young James, whose mother died the year after his birth, received a thorough education both at the local state school and

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McLACHLAN, Alexander John (1872–1956)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1926–44 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

McLACHLAN, Alexander John (1872–1956)
Senator for South Australia, 1926–44 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Alexander John McLachlan was born to Alexander McLachlan, a sheep farmer of Narracoorte, and his wife Mary, née Patterson, on 2 November 1872. His mother was a devout woman who read the Gaelic Bible to him each night, and taught him Gaelic songs. All his life he retained a strong attachment to, and interest in, his Scottish heritage, his parents and grandparents having emigrated

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McBRIDE, Sir Philip Albert Martin (1892–1982)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1937–44 (United Australia Party)</span>

McBRIDE, Sir Philip Albert Martin (1892–1982)
Senator for South Australia, 1937–44 (United Australia Party)

Philip Albert Martin McBride, pastoralist and businessman, spent seven years as a senator and overall eighteen as a member of the House of Representatives. He was influential in both houses, but the highpoint of his career centred on his ministerial appointments during the Cold War. McBride was born on 18 June 1892, at Kooringa, Burra, South Australia, the first child of Albert James McBride,

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KNEEBONE, Henry (1876–1933)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1931 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

KNEEBONE, Henry (1876–1933)
Senator for South Australia, 1931 (Australian Labor Party)

Henry Kneebone followed a socialist-Christian tradition reminiscent of British social reformers like Robert Owen and William Morris. His daughter wrote that ‘he was a Socialist in the sense that he considered Jesus Christ was a Socialist’. Described as ‘burly in figure, genial and generous in spirit’, and a man of ‘distinguished appearance and upright bearing’, Henry (Harry) Kneebone was born at Wallaroo Mines, South

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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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FINLAY, Alexander (1887–1963)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1944–53 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

FINLAY, Alexander (1887–1963)
Senator for South Australia, 1944–53 (Australian Labor Party)

Alexander Finlay, coach painter and union official, was born on 14 November 1887 in South Yarra, Victoria, to Alexander, a painter of Scottish descent, and his wife Florence. When Alexander was still young, the family moved to his mother’s home state of South Australia, to Adelaide. The city would remain his home. He attended Unley Public School until he was twelve (1894–99), took up

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DUNCAN-HUGHES, John Grant (1882–1962)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1931–38 (United Australia Party)</span>

DUNCAN-HUGHES, John Grant (1882–1962)
Senator for South Australia, 1931–38 (United Australia Party)

John Grant Duncan-Hughes, lawyer and pastoralist, was born into the politically minded Duncan family on 1 September 1882 at ‘Hughes Park’, near Watervale, South Australia. He was the eldest of the four sons of John James (later Sir John) Duncan, pastoralist and politician, and Jean Gordon, née Grant. His brother Walter would become a member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1918 to

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DALY, John Joseph (1891–1942)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1928–35 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

DALY, John Joseph (1891–1942)
Senator for South Australia, 1928–35 (Australian Labor Party)

John Joseph Daly, Adelaide barrister and solicitor, was Leader of the Government in the Senate during the first fourteen months of the Scullin Government. On the floor of the Senate he was ‘a man of outstanding merit’, but, as a Cabinet minister, he was a man in a quandary, caught between the conflicting forces swirling around J. H. Scullin and J. T. Lang, and the power struggle between

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CRITCHLEY, John Owen (1892–1964)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1947–59 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

CRITCHLEY, John Owen (1892–1964)
Senator for South Australia, 1947–59 (Australian Labor Party)

John Owen (Jack) Critchley, carpenter and railwayman, was born at Callington, South Australia, on 18 April 1892, the first of three sons of Patrick Critchley, labourer, and Julia, née Burns. Moving to Gumbowie, where his father worked as a packer on the railways, Jack attended school at Sunnybrae, then Petersburg (later Peterborough), leaving at thirteen because he felt his parents were ‘going without to

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CHAPMAN, John Hedley (1879–1931)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1926–31 (Australian Country Party)</span>

CHAPMAN, John Hedley (1879–1931)
Senator for South Australia, 1926–31 (Australian Country Party)

John Hedley Chapman was born at Jamestown, a small town north of Adelaide, on 16 December 1879. He was the only son of Sarah Jane, née Williams, and John Chapman, a farmer, whose grandfather, also John Chapman, had emigrated from Cornwall in 1845. John Hedley’s schooling commenced at the local Jamestown school (now Jamestown Community School) and was continued at Prince Alfred College in

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BEERWORTH, Frederick Hubert (1886–1968)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1946–51 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

BEERWORTH, Frederick Hubert (1886–1968)
Senator for South Australia, 1946–51 (Australian Labor Party)

Frederick Hubert Beerworth, farm worker, railwayman and union leader, was born on 17 May 1886 at Quorn near Carrieton, South Australia. He was one of the eleven children of William Carl Beerworth, a German-born farmer, and Mary, née McInerney. He was educated locally, probably at schools in Pametta and Carrieton. Following farm work in the Carrieton area, Fred, as he was known, became an

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BADMAN, Albert Oliver (1885–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1932–37 (Australian Country Party)</span>

BADMAN, Albert Oliver (1885–1977)
Senator for South Australia, 1932–37 (Australian Country Party)

Albert Oliver Badman, progressive wheat farmer and Country Party politician, was born ‘alongside a wheatfield’ near Yacka in the mid-north of South Australia, on 18 December 1885. Oliver, as he was known, was the son of Robert and Agnes Mary, née Duffield. According to family history, Albert Oliver’s grandfather was George Badman, who had migrated from Somerset, England, with his wife and young family

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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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SIMMONDS, Wilfrid Mylchreest (1889–1967)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1950–51 (Australian Country Party)</span>

SIMMONDS, Wilfrid Mylchreest (1889–1967)
Senator for Queensland, 1950–51 (Australian Country Party)

On 22 June 1950, Wilfrid Simmonds told the Senate: ‘I have a purpose to fulfil when I rise to speak . . . I shall not be side‑tracked from it by interjections’. Such resoluteness characterised Simmonds’ career as butcher, auctioneer, sugar farmer, federal and local politician, and community leader. Wilfrid Mylchreest Simmonds was born in Cairns, north Queensland, on 19 December 1889, the son

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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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POULTER, Maxwell William (1913–1962)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1962 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

POULTER, Maxwell William (1913–1962)
Senator for Queensland, 1962 (Australian Labor Party)

In his youth, when accompanying his father, then a produce agent, around northern Tasmania, Max Poulter became aware of the disproportionate distribution of wealth within the local community. This discovery motivated his actions, political and social, and ultimately led to his election to the Senate, though he died before taking his seat. Maxwell William Poulter, school and university teacher, was born on 22 January

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O’SULLIVAN, Sir Michael Neil (1900–1968)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1947–62 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

O’SULLIVAN, Sir Michael Neil (1900–1968)
Senator for Queensland, 1947–62 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Solicitor and company director, Michael Neil (known as Neil) O’Sullivan was born on 2 August 1900 at Toowong, Queensland, the fifth child of Queensland-born parents, Patrick Alban O’Sullivan, a 37‑year‑old solicitor, and his wife Mary Bridget, née Macgroarty, twenty-nine, from Gympie. Neil was a descendant of an Irish Catholic family. His grandfather, Patrick (1818–1904), was a soldier, transported in 1838 for retaliating with his

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MacDONALD, John Valentine (1880–1937)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1922, 1928, 1932–37 (Australian Labor Party; Federal Labor Party)</span>

MacDONALD, John Valentine (1880–1937)
Senator for Queensland, 1922, 1928, 1932–37 (Australian Labor Party; Federal Labor Party)

John Valentine MacDonald, journalist, was born on 14 February 1880 in Opotiki, New Zealand. He was the son of Norman, policeman and farmer, and Alice, née Davis, and grandson, on the paternal side, of John, a pioneer of the Victorian pastoral industry. MacDonald attended briefly state schools in New Zealand and New South Wales. From the age of eight he accompanied his nomadic father and

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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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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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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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COURTICE, Benjamin (1885–1972)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1937–62 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

COURTICE, Benjamin (1885–1972)
Senator for Queensland, 1937–62 (Australian Labor Party)

Benjamin Courtice, Bundaberg canefarmer who became federal minister for trade and customs, was one of a large number of Queensland small sugar farmers who, early in the twentieth century, replaced the non-white labourers of the South Pacific and found a strong political voice in the Queensland Labor Party. Francis Courtice, a labourer, and his wife Elizabeth, née Hamilton, both English-born, arrived in Townsville, Queensland,

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COLLINGS, Joseph Silver (1865–1955)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1932–50 (Federal Labor Party; Australian Labor Party)</span>

COLLINGS, Joseph Silver (1865–1955)
Senator for Queensland, 1932–50 (Federal Labor Party; Australian Labor Party)

Democratic socialist, union organiser, Labor troubleshooter and administrator, Joseph Silver Collings was born on 11 May 1865 at Brighton, England, the son of free thinker, Joseph Silver Collings, storekeeper, and his wife, Mary Ann, née Dyke, a Quaker. Educated at Brighton Board School, Collings became an apprentice journalist on the Sussex Daily News but emigrated to Brisbane with his parents in 1883 on the

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