Reginald Burchell

Reginald Burchell
Member of the Australian Parliament for Fremantle
In office 31 May 1913 – 6 November 1922
Preceded by	William Hedges
Succeeded by	William Watson
Personal details
Born	(1883-05-20)20 May 1883 Port Pirie, South Australia
Died	20 June 1955(1955-06-20) (aged 72)
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Labor (1913–17) Nationalist (1917–22)
Occupation	Railwayman

Reginald John Burchell (20 May 1883 – 20 June 1955) was an Australian politician. Born in Port Pirie, South Australia, he received a primary education before moving to Western Australia in 1897, where he became a railwayman and railway unionist. In 1913, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Fremantle, defeating the sitting Liberal member, William Hedges. In 1916, he joined Prime Minister Billy Hughes in leaving the Labor Party over the issue of conscription, joining Hughes' new National Labor Party. In 1917, the National Labor Party merged with the Liberal Party to form the Nationalist Party. Burchell retained his seat as a Nationalist in 1917 with a very large 25.2% swing. He retired in 1922, becoming a company manager and administrative officer in Melbourne. Burchell died in 1955.^[1]

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