Richard Sleath

Richard 'Dick' Sleath
Member of the New South Wales Parliament
for Wilcannia
In office
17 July 1894  16 July 1904
Preceded by Edward Dickens
Succeeded by Seat Abolished
Personal details
Born Richard Sleath
3 October 1863
Cerres, Fifeshire
Died 10 October 1922 (aged 59)
Sydney, New South Wales
Political party Australian Labor Party
Other political
affiliations
Nationalist Party of Australia
Spouse(s) Jane Dawson
Children 4
Occupation Miner, Bushworker, Quarryman

Richard 'Dick' Sleath (3 October 1863 10 October 1922) was an Australian politician.

Born in Cerres, Fifeshire to ploughman Richard Sleath and Mary Fernie, he migrated to Queensland in 1877, becoming a shearer and prospector. In 1882 he moved to Sydney, working as a contractor before mining at Broken Hill from 1887. On 11 March 1887, he married Jane Dawson with whom he had four sons. He helped found the first Socialist League at Broken Hill and was a member of the central executive of the Labor Party in 1898. In 1894 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the Labour member for Wilcannia. He lost his Labour endorsement in 1901 but was re-elected as an Independent Labor candidate, losing his seat in 1904. In 1917 Sleath, a supporter of conscription, joined the Nationalist Party. He died in Sydney in 1922.[1]

References

Parliament of New South Wales
Preceded by
Edward Dickens
Member for Wilcannia
1894  1904
District Abolished