Baden Powell (politician)
Encyclopedia
Arthur Redvers Baden Powell (13 March 1900 – 25 November 1955) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
for 3 months in 1950. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party
.
and was the son of a coalminer. He was educated to elementary level in Wales and worked as a miner there until he emigrated to Australia with his parents in 1927. In Australia, he became active in the Labor Party and worked as an ironworker at the Wollongong Steelworks until 1932. He then became the secretary for Billy Davies, a Labor member of the Legislative Assembly for a number of seats in the Illawarra region between 1917 and 1949. Following his retirement from parliament, Powell became a boiler attendant.
at the January 1950 by-election caused by the resignation of the incumbent Labor member, Billy Davies, who successfully contested the seat of Cunningham
at the 1949
federal election. In a normally safe Labor seat, in which Davis had usually been elected unopposed, Powell was strongly challenged by the Liberal
's Gerald Sargent. He eventually won the by-election by 261 votes, a margin of 0.84%. This narrow victory presaged the statewide swing against Labor at the 1950
election 3 months later but it also weakened Powell's position within the local Labor Party. He lost the Labor pre-selection ballot for the 1950 election to Rex Connor
, who would eventually become the federal member for Cunningham and a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam
. Powell did not contest the election and retired from state politics. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office.
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
for 3 months in 1950. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
.
Early life
Powell was born in Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and was the son of a coalminer. He was educated to elementary level in Wales and worked as a miner there until he emigrated to Australia with his parents in 1927. In Australia, he became active in the Labor Party and worked as an ironworker at the Wollongong Steelworks until 1932. He then became the secretary for Billy Davies, a Labor member of the Legislative Assembly for a number of seats in the Illawarra region between 1917 and 1949. Following his retirement from parliament, Powell became a boiler attendant.
State Parliament
Powell was elected to parliament as the Labor member for Wollongong-KemblaElectoral district of Wollongong-Kembla
Wollongong-Kembla was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It was created in 1941, and abolished in 1968, being split into Wollongong and Kembla.-Members for Wollongong-Kembla:...
at the January 1950 by-election caused by the resignation of the incumbent Labor member, Billy Davies, who successfully contested the seat of Cunningham
Division of Cunningham
The Division of Cunningham is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Allan Cunningham, a 19th century explorer of New South Wales and Queensland. It is located on the coast of New South Wales between southern Sydney and Wollongong, and...
at the 1949
Australian federal election, 1949
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced...
federal election. In a normally safe Labor seat, in which Davis had usually been elected unopposed, Powell was strongly challenged by the Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
's Gerald Sargent. He eventually won the by-election by 261 votes, a margin of 0.84%. This narrow victory presaged the statewide swing against Labor at the 1950
New South Wales state election, 1950
The 1950 New South Wales State state election was held on 17 June 1950. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1949 redistribution...
election 3 months later but it also weakened Powell's position within the local Labor Party. He lost the Labor pre-selection ballot for the 1950 election to Rex Connor
Rex Connor
Reginald Francis Xavier "Rex" Connor , Australian politician, was a minister in the Whitlam government and promoted government investment to support national development...
, who would eventually become the federal member for Cunningham and a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
. Powell did not contest the election and retired from state politics. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office.