- William Archibald
:"See also
William Archibald (disambiguation) for other people with similar names."William Oliver Archibald (
3 June 1850 –28 June 1926 ) was a member of theAustralian House of Representatives and theSouth Australian House of Assembly .Early life
Born in St Pancras,
London , Archibald was orphaned at 10 and educated to primary school level in England, then worked as an apprentice piano builder before emigrating first toNew Zealand in 1879 and thence toNew South Wales and Victoria in 1881 before arriving inSouth Australia in 1882.Archibald was initially employed on the
Port Adelaide wharves before working for the South Australian Government Railway workshop, where he became involved in union activities.Political career
A foundation member of the United Labor Party (the predecessor of the
Australian Labor Party ), Archibald gained pre-selection for the South Australian House of AssemblyElectoral district of Port Adelaide and was comfortably elected at the 1893 election.Archibald rose to prominence in parliament and gained a reputation as a "hard-working member who always thoroughly mastered his subject". He also successfully introduced a number of important bills into parliament, including legislation on social issues like the establishment of public libraries, worker's compensation and rent relief. Archibald also found time to serve as President of the South Australian branch of the Labor Party from 1901-02 and Caucus chairman from 1905-08.
Archibald retired from state parliament in 1910 in order to stand as the Labor candidate for the safe federal seat of Hindmarsh at the 1910 election. He was elected unopposed.
After travelling to
England as an official Australian parliament representative to the coronation of King George V in 1911, Archibald was re-elected in 1913 and 1914 and appointed Minister for Home Affairs by Prime MinisterAndrew Fisher .In 1916, an internal party row over
conscription led to a split in the ALP and Archibald, along with Prime Minister and Labor leaderBilly Hughes , left the ALP to form theNational Labor Party . For his support, Hughes appointed Archibald Minister for Trade and Customs in the short livedSecond Hughes Ministry . Archibald subsequently lost his seat in the 1919 general election.An unforgettable character in parliament, Archibald was described as "rugged and strong with burly physique, bow legs and a bullet-like head" who "slaughter(ed) the English language with pitiless ferocity every time he talk(ed)". However, Archibald was also universally respected in the House and was considered one of the best-read members of parliament.
Late life
The thrice married Archibald worked as a book-seller in Semaphore until his retirement and died in
Adelaide in 1926. He was survived by his third wife and a son and daughter from his first marriage.References
*Citation
first=Dean
last=Jaensch
coauthors=Martha Rutledge
title =Archibald, William Oliver (1850 - 1926)
publisher =Australian National University , Melbourne University Press
journal =Australian Dictionary of Biography
volume =7
date=1979
url =http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080167b.htm
accessdate = 2007-05-14Persondata
NAME=Archibald, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Australia n politician
DATE OF BIRTH=3 June 1850
PLACE OF BIRTH=St Pancras,London
DATE OF DEATH=28 June 1926
PLACE OF DEATH=Adelaide
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