Ernest Roberts (Australian politician)

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Ernest Alfred Roberts (21 February 1868 – 2 December 1913) was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives.

Roberts was born in London and educated in Guernsey. He became a sailor and then travelled to Queensland in 1886. He became a wharf labourer and union secretary in Port Pirie, South Australia and in 1892 he married Bridget Marie Collins.^[1]

In 1893, Roberts unsuccessfully stood for election to the seat of Gladstone, but won it for Labor at the 1896 election. Although he initially opposed the sending of South Australian troops to the Second Boer War in 1899, in early 1900 he served as a lieutenant with the 4th Imperial Bushmen's Contingent there. He returned in July 1901, resigned his seat and helped organise the 2nd Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse. He returned to western Transvaal in mid-1902 as a captain. After his return to Australia, he edited the Labor Weekly Herald from 1904 to 1908.^[1]

Roberts won the seat federal of Adelaide at a by-election. He was an honorary minister in the second Fisher Ministry, representing the Minister for Defence in the House of Representatives from October 1911 to 1913 and was acting Minister for Defence in 1911 while George Pearce was visiting England. Just after speaking in Parliament in Melbourne he collapsed and died of a heart condition, survived by his wife, son and three daughters.^[1][2]

[edit] Notes

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Charles Kingston	Member for Adelaide 1908 – 1913	Succeeded by Edwin Yates

Persondata
NAME	Roberts, Ernest Alfred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH	21 February 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH	London
DATE OF DEATH	2 December 1913
PLACE OF DEATH	Melbourne