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Browsing: Nationalist Party

ADAMSON, John (1857–1922)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1920–22 (Nationalist Party)</span>

ADAMSON, John (1857–1922)
Senator for Queensland, 1920–22 (Nationalist Party)

John Adamson, Methodist minister, was born on 18 February 1857 at Tudhoe, County Durham, England, the son of Robert Adamson, shoemaker, and his wife, Dorothy, née English. After leaving Tudhoe Public School at the age of ten, he was apprenticed first to his alcoholic father as a shoemaker; then worked as a blacksmith. He became a railway tradesman on the North Eastern Railways, and

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BAKHAP, Thomas Jerome Kingston (1866–1923)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1913–23 (Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

BAKHAP, Thomas Jerome Kingston (1866–1923)
Senator for Tasmania, 1913–23 (Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)

Thomas Jerome Kingston Bakhap, tin miner, was born in the Benevolent Asylum, Ballarat, Victoria, on 29 October 1866, the son of Margaret Geneva Hogan, an eighteen-year-old Irish girl residing in Smythesdale. The identity of the father does not appear on Bakhap’s birth certificate, registered in the name Kingston. Subsequent claims by his mother (whose own birthplace is cited variously as Callao, Peru, and Limerick,

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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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BOLTON, William Kinsey (1860–1941)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1917–23 (Nationalist Party)</span>

BOLTON, William Kinsey (1860–1941)
Senator for Victoria, 1917–23 (Nationalist Party)

William Kinsey Bolton, soldier and foundation president of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia, was born in Lostock Gralam, Cheshire, England, on 1 November 1860. The son of John Hammersley Bolton, corn dealer, and Hannah, née Kinsey, Bolton arrived in Australia with his parents in 1868. The family settled in the western district of Victoria, where his father became a storekeeper.

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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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COLEBATCH, Sir Hal Pateshall (1872–1953)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1929–33 (Nationalist Party)</span>

COLEBATCH, Sir Hal Pateshall (1872–1953)
Senator for Western Australia, 1929–33 (Nationalist Party)

Harry (Hal) Pateshall Colebatch was born at Wolferlow, Hertfordshire, England, on 29 March 1872, migrating with his parents to South Australia at the age of six. Educated at Goolwa, he left school at fourteen and entered journalism, working from 1889 to 1895 on the Silver Age at Broken Hill. Moving to Western Australia in 1895, he worked briefly on the Golden Age and the

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COLLETT, Herbert Brayley (1877–1947)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1933–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

COLLETT, Herbert Brayley (1877–1947)
Senator for Western Australia, 1933–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

Herbert Brayley Collett, librarian and distinguished soldier, was born on 12 November 1877 at St Peter Port, at Guernsey in the Channel Islands. He was the son of Frank Collett, auctioneer, and his wife, Laura Augusta, née Wedlake. Herbert was nearly seven when his family emigrated on the SS Glen Goil to Western Australia, disembarking at Fremantle on 11 October 1884. Educated privately and

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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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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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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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EARLE, John (1865–1932)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1917–23 (Nationalist Party)</span>

EARLE, John (1865–1932)
Senator for Tasmania, 1917–23 (Nationalist Party)

‘Amid all the confusion of voices’, wrote Punch in 1917, referring to John Earle’s move to the Senate to join the government of W. M. Hughes, ‘no more bland expression could have been imagined than that of Senator Earle when he asked to be informed what all the fuss was about’. John Earle, blacksmith and miner, was born at Bridgewater, Tasmania, on 15 November

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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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FAIRBAIRN, Sir George (1855–1943)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1917–23 (Nationalist Party)</span>

FAIRBAIRN, Sir George (1855–1943)
Senator for Victoria, 1917–23 (Nationalist Party)

‘Parliament’, said Senator George Fairbairn, ‘should exercise supreme control over the public purse’. With his regard for the principles of the Constitution, his keen business acumen and eye for detail, Fairbairn exemplified the Senate’s developing role as a house of review. Born at Newtown, Geelong, Victoria, on 23 March 1855, the eldest of six sons and a daughter, his father, also George Fairbairn, was

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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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GARLING, Henry Chester-Master (1870–1942)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1921–22 (Nationalist Party)</span>

GARLING, Henry Chester-Master (1870–1942)
Senator for New South Wales, 1921–22 (Nationalist Party)

Henry Chester-Master Garling, who in losing an election lost also the prospect of a new hat, was born in Camden, New South Wales on 7 June 1870, to Clarence William Henry Garling, a bank manager, and Mary Catherine, née Gardiner, of Lake George. Educated to secondary school level, Garling worked for Henry Bull & Co. and for the insurance firms of Michael Metcalfe and

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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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GOULD, Sir Albert John (1847–1936)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1901–17 (Free Trade; Anti-Socialist Party; Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

GOULD, Sir Albert John (1847–1936)
Senator for New South Wales, 1901–17 (Free Trade; Anti-Socialist Party; Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)

In 1936, the then Leader of the Opposition, John Curtin, speaking of Sir Albert Gould, said: ‘I doubt sometimes that the people of Australia to-day really appreciate the importance that belonged to the establishment of the Commonwealth, and the great privilege enjoyed by those who . . . by their public service, sufficiently earned the confidence of the people to justify their return at

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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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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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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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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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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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KEATING, John Henry (1872–1940)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1901–23 (Protectionist; Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

KEATING, John Henry (1872–1940)
Senator for Tasmania, 1901–23 (Protectionist; Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)

John Henry Keating’s parting wish as he left the Federal Parliament after twenty-two years was that the Senate would ‘fulfil the functions which the founders of the Constitution fondly believed it would fulfil when they gave it its Constitution’.[1] At twenty-nine, Keating had been the youngest member of the first Commonwealth Parliament. According to Punch, in 1906 he was a ‘tall, plump, youthful looking

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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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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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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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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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MILLEN, Edward Davis (1860–1923)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1901–23 (Free Trade; Anti-Socialist Party; Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

MILLEN, Edward Davis (1860–1923)
Senator for New South Wales, 1901–23 (Free Trade; Anti-Socialist Party; Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)

As Australia’s first Minister for Repatriation, Edward Millen was a central figure in the establishment of Australia’s repatriation policies and machinery. Born in Deal, Kent, on 7 November 1860, the son of John Bullock Millen, a pilot of the Cinque Ports, and Charlotte, née Davis, he began his working life as an adjuster of marine insurance. Migrating to New South Wales around 1880, Millen

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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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MULCAHY, Edward (1850–1927)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1904–10, 1919–20 (Protectionist; Nationalist Party)</span>

MULCAHY, Edward (1850–1927)
Senator for Tasmania, 1904–10, 1919–20 (Protectionist; Nationalist Party)

Edward Mulcahy, draper, was born in Limerick, Ireland, on 28 March 1850, one of a large family born to James Mulcahy, blacksmith, and Mary Anne, née McMahon. The Mulcahys arrived in Tasmania in June 1854, where James worked as a mechanic for the Hobart engineering firm of Davidson and Clark, while the young Edward became friends with Clark’s son, the future federationist, Andrew Inglis

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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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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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PRATTEN, Herbert Edward (1865–1928)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1917–21 (Nationalist Party)</span>

PRATTEN, Herbert Edward (1865–1928)
Senator for New South Wales, 1917–21 (Nationalist Party)

An innovative and successful businessman, Herbert Edward Pratten was born at Mangotsfield in Gloucestershire (near Bristol), England, on 7 May 1865, the son of Herbert Graham Pratten, baker, and his wife, Ann Rebecca, née Vowles. He attended the Bristol Trades and Mining School and was appointed to a clerkship in the Bristol ironworks of John Lysaght, who exported iron and steel to Australia. In

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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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ROBINSON, Albert William (1877–1943)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1928 (Nationalist Party)</span>

ROBINSON, Albert William (1877–1943)
Senator for South Australia, 1928 (Nationalist Party)

Albert William Robinson was an effective representative of the rural sector, both inside and outside Parliament, for over thirty years. Robinson was born at Lyndoch, South Australia, on 20 May 1877, the only son of George Septimus Robinson, a publican and grazier, and his wife Lucy, née Ridgway. He was educated at the Balaklava State School, the Clare Advanced School, of which he was

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ROWELL, James (1851–1940)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1917–23 (Nationalist Party)</span>

ROWELL, James (1851–1940)
Senator for South Australia, 1917–23 (Nationalist Party)

Colonel James Rowell was the epitome of the turn of the century military man: composed in manner, dignified in bearing and of distinguished appearance. He was born at Cambridge, England, on 20 January 1851, the son of John Rowell, a gardener, and his wife Susan, previously Smith, née Hall. In 1855, he came to South Australia with his parents where they established an orchard

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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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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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SHANNON, John Wallace (1862–1926)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1912–13, 1914–20 (Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

SHANNON, John Wallace (1862–1926)
Senator for South Australia, 1912–13, 1914–20 (Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)

His statement: ‘I am an Australian first, and a South Australian afterwards’,[1]was at the heart of John Wallace Shannon’s political philosophy. Born at Moculta, South Australia, on 28 April 1862, son of Abraham Shannon, farmer, and Eliza, née Mahood, Shannon was to rise to a position of eminence as a farmer, businessman and state politician before entering the Senate. Educated at Angaston, Shannon took

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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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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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VARDON, Edward Charles (1866–1937)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1921–22 (Nationalist Party)</span>

VARDON, Edward Charles (1866–1937)
Senator for South Australia, 1921–22 (Nationalist Party)

Edward Charles Vardon was an Adelaide businessman, who, as a printer, a Freemason, a prominent member of the Congregational Church, a member of the South Australian Liberal Union, a South Australian parliamentarian and a senator for South Australia, followed in the footsteps of his father, Joseph Vardon. Edward was born at Hindmarsh in Adelaide on 10 November 1866, one of five children of Joseph

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VERRAN, John (1856–1932)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1927–28 (Nationalist Party)</span>

VERRAN, John (1856–1932)
Senator for South Australia, 1927–28 (Nationalist Party)

John Verran, miner, preacher, temperance advocate and politician, was a bluff, fiery man, short and stout, but of great physical strength. A twin son of John Spargoe Verran, copper miner, and his wife Elizabeth Jane, née Harvey, he was born at Gwennap, Cornwall, England, on 9 August 1856. In 1857, the family migrated to South Australia’s copper mining town of Kapunda, moving on after

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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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