Jack Egerton
Encyclopedia
Sir John Alfred Roy Egerton (11 March 1918 – 21 December 1998) was an Australia
n trade union
organiser and member of the Australian Labor Party
. Egerton was born in Emerald
, Queensland
and was educated at Rockhampton
and Mount Morgan
High Schools.
Jack Egerton started work as a boilermaker
. He became state secretary of the Queensland Boilermakers Union in 1943, and served as president of the Queensland Trades and Labour Council from 1967 to 1976; president of the Australian Labor Party state executive from 1968 to 1976; and as an executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
and a member of the ALP's federal executive. In the 1970s, Egerton was Prime Minister
Gough Whitlam
's right-hand man in Queensland and frequently clashed with the state's conservative Premier
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
.
In 1976 Egerton notoriously became the Australian Labor Party's first and only knight (although, by contrast, the analogous New Zealand party had, and still has, several knights in its ranks); he took to his grave the secret of why he broke Labor tradition and accepted the honour. It is said that the only man who knew the secret was former Senator Albert Patrick Field
, but Field died in 1990 without revealing anything about the subject.
Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser
offered the knighthood to Egerton for service to the trade union movement. The award cost Egerton his ALP membership, and earned him the name of 'Jumping Jack the Black Knight', as well as prompting in some quarters the even more hostile epithet 'Labor Rat'. By odd coincidence, Egerton, the son of a boilermaker, received his knighthood from Governor-General
John Kerr, also the son of a boilermaker. An outraged Whitlam would later say the knighthood was "the most inappropriate conferral of the title since Queen Elizabeth I knighted Sir Toby Belch". Egerton's wife, Lady (Moya) Egerton had her ALP membership restored in 1977, but Sir Jack was never reinstated to the party.
Egerton was later elected as an alderman of the Gold Coast City Council 1979-85, and served as the Deputy Mayor of the Gold Coast for a time.
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 trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
organiser and 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...
. Egerton was born in Emerald
Emerald, Queensland
Emerald is a town located in the Central Highlands district of Central Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Emerald had a population of 10,999. The town is the business centre for the Central Highlands Regional Council....
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and was educated at Rockhampton
Rockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....
and Mount Morgan
Mount Morgan, Queensland
Mount Morgan is a town located in central Queensland, Australia. It is situated on the Dee River, 38 kilometres south of the city of Rockhampton, and is 680 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane. The Burnett Highway passes through the town...
High Schools.
Jack Egerton started work as a boilermaker
Boilermaker
A boilermaker is a trained craftsman who produces steel fabrications from plates and sections. The name originated from craftsmen who would fabricate boilers, but they may work on projects as diverse as bridges to blast furnaces to the construction of mining equipment.-Boilermaking:Many...
. He became state secretary of the Queensland Boilermakers Union in 1943, and served as president of the Queensland Trades and Labour Council from 1967 to 1976; president of the Australian Labor Party state executive from 1968 to 1976; and as an executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
Australian Council of Trade Unions
The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions.-History:The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions"...
and a member of the ALP's federal executive. In the 1970s, Egerton was Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
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...
's right-hand man in Queensland and frequently clashed with the state's conservative Premier
Premiers of Queensland
Before the 1890s, there was no developed party system in Queensland. Political affiliation labels before that time indicate a general tendency only. Before the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, political parties were more akin to parliamentary factions, and were fluid, informal and...
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
.
In 1976 Egerton notoriously became the Australian Labor Party's first and only knight (although, by contrast, the analogous New Zealand party had, and still has, several knights in its ranks); he took to his grave the secret of why he broke Labor tradition and accepted the honour. It is said that the only man who knew the secret was former Senator Albert Patrick Field
Albert Field
Albert Patrick Field was an Australian who was a French polisher plucked from obscurity to become a Senator in 1975. The circumstances of his appointment were instrumental in precipitating the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.Queensland ALP Senator Bertie Milliner died suddenly on 30 June 1975...
, but Field died in 1990 without revealing anything about the subject.
Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
offered the knighthood to Egerton for service to the trade union movement. The award cost Egerton his ALP membership, and earned him the name of 'Jumping Jack the Black Knight', as well as prompting in some quarters the even more hostile epithet 'Labor Rat'. By odd coincidence, Egerton, the son of a boilermaker, received his knighthood from Governor-General
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
John Kerr, also the son of a boilermaker. An outraged Whitlam would later say the knighthood was "the most inappropriate conferral of the title since Queen Elizabeth I knighted Sir Toby Belch". Egerton's wife, Lady (Moya) Egerton had her ALP membership restored in 1977, but Sir Jack was never reinstated to the party.
Egerton was later elected as an alderman of the Gold Coast City Council 1979-85, and served as the Deputy Mayor of the Gold Coast for a time.