Albert Gardiner

The Honourable Albert Gardiner
Senator for New South Wales
In office
1 July 1910 – 30 June 1926
In office
5 June 1928 – 16 November 1928
Personal details
Born 30 July 1867(1867-07-30)
Orange, New South Wales
Died 14 August 1952(1952-08-14) (aged 85)
Bondi Junction, New South Wales
Nationality Australian
Political party Australian Labor Party
Spouse(s) 1) Ada Evelyn Jewell
2) Theresa Alice Clayton
Occupation Goldminer

Albert Gardiner (30 July 1867 – 14 August 1952) was an Australian Labor Party politician. He held the distinction of being the party's sole Senator between 1920 and 1922.

Gardiner was born in Orange, New South Wales and educated at Flanagan's School. He was apprenticed as a carpenter at 15. In 1890, he moved to Parkes and worked on the gold battery at the Hazelhurst mine.[1]

Political career

In 1891, Gardiner was elected as an Australian Labor Party member for Forbes, although he refused to sign Labor's solidarity pledge in 1893. In 1894, with the abolition of Forbes, he was elected the member for Ashburnham, but was defeated in 1895. He stood unsuccessfully for Ashburnham in 1898 for the Free Trade Party and Orange in 1901 as an independent. In 1897, he divorced his first wife Ada Evelyn Jewell, who he had married in 1892, and he married Theresa Alice Clayton in 1902. He was elected member for Orange in 1904, but lost the seat in 1907.[1][2]

From 1910 to 1926, Gardiner was a Senator for New South Wales in Federal Parliament. He was appointed Vice-President of the Executive Council in 1914 and Assistant Minister for Defence in 1915. He resigned from the ministry in opposition to conscription before the first plebiscite on conscription in October 1916. After the Labor split over the issue, he became Labor leader in the Senate and the only Labor Senator from 1920 to 1922. A filibuster in 1918 delivered Federal Parliament's longest speech at 12 hours and 40 minutes (the combined Parnell-Bressington filibuster in the South Australian upper house went for over 13 hours), this forced the introduction of a time limit on future speeches. In 1926, he lost his Senate seat, but he filled a casual vacancy for five months in 1928, despite expulsion from the Lang-led state branch of the party. He unsuccessfully contested Dalley as an independent Labor candidate in 1928. He then unsuccessfully contested the State seats of Waverley in 1932 and Canterbury in 1935 as an Official Labor candidate, that is recognised by the Federal Labor Party, but not the State branch.[2]

Gardiner died at Bondi Junction, survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.[2]

References

Political offices
Preceded by
James McColl
Vice-President of the Executive Council
1914–1916
Succeeded by
William Spence
Party political offices
Preceded by
George Pearce
Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party
1916–1926
Succeeded by
James Scullin
Leader of the Australian Labor Party in the Senate
1916–1926
Vacant
Title next held by
John Daly
Parliament of New South Wales
Preceded by
Henry Cooke
Member for Forbes
1891 – 1894
Served alongside: Hutchinson
Succeeded by
Abolished
Preceded by
New seat
Member for Ashburnham
1894 – 1895
Succeeded by
Joseph Reymond
Preceded by
Henry Newman
Member for Orange
1904 – 1907
Succeeded by
John Fitzpatrick