William Archibald

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 the Australian House of Representatives and the South Australian House of Assembly.

Born in London, Archibald was orphaned at 10 and educated to primary school level in England, then worked as an apprentice piano builder before emigrating first to New Zealand in 1879 and thence to New South Wales and Victoria in 1881 before arriving in South 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. 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 Assembly Electoral 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 Minister Andrew Fisher.

In 1916, an internal party row over conscription led to a split in the ALP and Archibald, along with Prime Minister and Labor leader Billy Hughes, left the ALP to form the National Labor Party. For his support, Hughes appointed Archibald Minister for Trade and Customs in the short lived Second 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.

The thrice married Archibald worked as a book-seller in Semaphore until his retirement and died in Adelaide in 1928. He was survived by his third wife and a son and daughter from his first marriage.

[edit] References

Jaensch, D. (1979) "Archibald, William Oliver (1850 - 1926)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. ISBN