George Ardill
Encyclopedia
George Edward Ardill was an Australia
n politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
from 1930 to 1941, representing the electorate of Yass
for the Nationalist Party
and its successor, the United Australia Party
.
Ardill was born in Newtown
, the son of George Ardill, senior, a conservative Christian evangelist and social activist who was a prominent advocate of the removal of Aboriginal children
from their families to be resettled in white homes. He was educated at Stanmore Public School and Newington College
(1903–1907) . He was a dairy farmer at Coraki
for a time after leaving school, before buying his own property at Gunning
in 1916. He also worked as a stock and station agent and auctioneer, and at one point also owned a motor garage.
Ardill was actively involved in community organisations throughout his life, serving as a member of the Aborigines Protection Board from 1936 to 1945, as Executive Director of the Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children from 1945 to 1964, and as Foundation President of the Sound Finance League of Australia in 1933. At a local level, he was a councillor of the Gunning Shire Council from 1920 until 1934 and 1938 until 1941, and shire president in 1923 and 1927-28. He was also secretary of the local agricultural society, founder of the local dramatic society, branch secretary of the Primary Producers Union and Graziers Association, and a Methodist lay preacher for the Gunning circuit.
Ardill entered state politics at the 1930 election
, narrowly winning the new, notionally Nationalist seat of Yass
. He was easily re-elected in 1932, 1935 and 1938, and was promoted to Government Whip in 1937. He attempted to shift to the adjacent seat of Goulburn at the 1941 election
after a hostile redistribution affected his margin in Yass, but lost to the incumbent Labor MLA, Jack Tully
. He attempted to re-enter parliament in 1944, contesting the seat of Hawkesbury
, but was again unsuccessful. He thereafter retired from politics.
Ardill died at Concord
in 1964.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
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...
from 1930 to 1941, representing the electorate of Yass
Electoral district of Yass
Yass was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales between 1894 and 1920. It largely replaced the electoral district of Yass Plains. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, it was absorbed along with Burrangong into...
for the Nationalist Party
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
and its successor, the United Australia Party
United Australia Party
The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
.
Ardill was born in Newtown
Newtown, New South Wales
Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....
, the son of George Ardill, senior, a conservative Christian evangelist and social activist who was a prominent advocate of the removal of Aboriginal children
Stolen Generation
The Stolen Generations were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments...
from their families to be resettled in white homes. He was educated at Stanmore Public School and Newington College
Newington College
Newington College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Stanmore, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
(1903–1907) . He was a dairy farmer at Coraki
Coraki, New South Wales
Coraki is a small town that sits on the confluence of the Richmond and Wilson Rivers in northern New South Wales, Australia in Richmond Valley Shire. At the 2006 census, Coraki had a population of 1,180 people...
for a time after leaving school, before buying his own property at Gunning
Gunning, New South Wales
Gunning is a town on the Old Hume Highway, between Goulburn and Yass in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, about 260 km south-west of Sydney and 75 km north of the national capital, Canberra. On Census night 2006, Gunning had a population of 487 people...
in 1916. He also worked as a stock and station agent and auctioneer, and at one point also owned a motor garage.
Ardill was actively involved in community organisations throughout his life, serving as a member of the Aborigines Protection Board from 1936 to 1945, as Executive Director of the Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children from 1945 to 1964, and as Foundation President of the Sound Finance League of Australia in 1933. At a local level, he was a councillor of the Gunning Shire Council from 1920 until 1934 and 1938 until 1941, and shire president in 1923 and 1927-28. He was also secretary of the local agricultural society, founder of the local dramatic society, branch secretary of the Primary Producers Union and Graziers Association, and a Methodist lay preacher for the Gunning circuit.
Ardill entered state politics at the 1930 election
New South Wales state election, 1930
The 1930 New South Wales state election was held on 25 October 1930. The election was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting...
, narrowly winning the new, notionally Nationalist seat of Yass
Electoral district of Yass
Yass was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales between 1894 and 1920. It largely replaced the electoral district of Yass Plains. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, it was absorbed along with Burrangong into...
. He was easily re-elected in 1932, 1935 and 1938, and was promoted to Government Whip in 1937. He attempted to shift to the adjacent seat of Goulburn at the 1941 election
New South Wales state election, 1941
The 1941 New South Wales state election was held on 10 May 1941. This election was for all of the 90 seats in the 33nd New South Wales Legislative Assembly and was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting....
after a hostile redistribution affected his margin in Yass, but lost to the incumbent Labor MLA, Jack Tully
Jack Tully
John Moran "Jack" Tully was an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1925 to 1932 and from 1935 to 1946....
. He attempted to re-enter parliament in 1944, contesting the seat of Hawkesbury
Electoral district of Hawkesbury
Hawkesbury is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It was represented by Steven Pringle, formerly of the Liberal Party of Australia, who contested the 2007 election as an independent but was defeated by Ray Williams of the Liberal Party of...
, but was again unsuccessful. He thereafter retired from politics.
Ardill died at Concord
Concord, New South Wales
Concord is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay....
in 1964.