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BUZACOTT, Richard (1867–1933)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1910–23 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

BUZACOTT, Richard (1867–1933)
Senator for Western Australia, 1910–23 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)

Richard Buzacott was born at Emu Flat, near Clare, South Australia, on 7 September 1867, son of Richard Buzacott, a farmer of Emu Farm, Armagh (near Clare, South Australia) and his wife Margaret, née McKinnon. An elder brother, Nicholas, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council (1899–1933). Richard was educated at Stanley Flat Primary School. In 1891, he went to work

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DE LARGIE, Hugh (1859–1947)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1901–23 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

DE LARGIE, Hugh (1859–1947)
Senator for Western Australia, 1901–23 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)

Hugh de Largie, miner and trade union leader, was born on 24 March 1859 in Airdrie, Scotland, the son of Archibald, a coal miner, and his wife Mary, née McLaren. Both parents died when he was young. Educated to primary level only, at St Margaret’s School in Airdrie, de Largie worked in the Lanarkshire mines from the age of ten and later became active

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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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GUTHRIE, Robert Storrie (1856–1921)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1903–21 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

GUTHRIE, Robert Storrie (1856–1921)
Senator for South Australia, 1903–21 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)

Robert Storrie Guthrie, seaman and trade unionist, was born at Partick, near Glasgow, Scotland, on 17 November 1856. He was the son of Andrew Guthrie, a joiner, and his wife Elizabeth, née Storrie. He was educated at Glen’s School, Glasgow. At the age of fifteen, Guthrie became a ship’s apprentice. In 1876, he arrived in Australia, only staying a short time before leaving for

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HENDERSON, Christopher George (1857–1933)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1904–23 (Australian Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

HENDERSON, Christopher George (1857–1933)
Senator for Western Australia, 1904–23 (Australian Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)

Christopher George Henderson was born at Bedlington, Northumberland, England, on 19 August 1857, to George Henderson of Rothesay, Scotland, and Jane, née Short. At the time of her son’s birth, Jane could neither read nor write. Christoper George began his working life at the age of eight or nine years as a pony boy in a Northumberland coal mine. At fifteen, he became a

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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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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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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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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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SENIOR, William (1850–1926)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1913–23 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist)</span>

SENIOR, William (1850–1926)
Senator for South Australia, 1913–23 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist)

On his retirement from the Senate, William Senior referred to himself as ‘that troublesome man who sat in the corner’[1]but, as we shall see, any trouble he caused was more the consequence of his conscience, than mere politicking. He was born at Holmfirth, near Huddersfield, Yorkshire, on 9 February 1850 to Thomas Senior, an engineer and farmer, and Charlotte, née Dennison. At the age

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STORY, William Harrison (1857–1924)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1904–17 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist)</span>

STORY, William Harrison (1857–1924)
Senator for South Australia, 1904–17 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist)

William Harrison Story, trade unionist, businessman and politician, and son of George and Eliza Story, née Morgan, was born in Mitcham, South Australia on 31 May 1857. Shortly thereafter the family moved to Norton Summit as William’s father, at that time occupied as a gardener, had been commissioned to lay out and plant the grounds of ‘Drysdale’, the home of Thomas Playford. In 1863,

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