James Guy Dalley Arkins (14 October 1888 – 2 August 1980) was an Australia

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.

Born in Millthorpe

Millthorpe, New South Wales

Millthorpe is a town located between Orange and Blayney in New South Wales, Australia in the Blayney Shire. At the 2006 census, Millthorpe had a population of 725 people....

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, he was educated at public schools before becoming a builder. In 1915 he was elected to 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...

 as the Labor

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...

 member for Castlereagh

Electoral district of Castlereagh

Castlereagh was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales originally created in 1904, partly replacing Coonamble and named after the Castlereagh River. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, it was absorbed into Wammerawa,...

. After the Labor split of 1916 over conscription

Conscription

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

, Arkins joined 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...

. While still an MLA, he served in the military from 1916-1919. In 1920 he transferred to the seat of St George

Electoral district of St George

St George was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1894 with the abolition of multi-member districts, from part of Canterbury and named after the St George district...

, and in 1927 to Rockdale

Electoral district of Rockdale

Rockdale is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by John Flowers of the Liberal Party of Australia.-History:...

. He contested Waverley

Electoral district of Waverley

Waverley was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1894, with the abolition of multi-member constituencies, out of part of Paddington, and named after and including the Sydney suburb of Waverley. In 1920, with the...

 in 1932, following the abolition of Rockdale, but was defeated by William Clementson

William Clementson

William Alfred Clementson was an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1930 to 1932, representing the electorate of Waverley....

.

On 26 September 1935, Arkins was appointed to the Australian Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

 as a member of 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...

 (UAP) (successor to the Nationalist Party), filling the vacancy caused by the death of NSW Senator Lionel Courtenay

Lionel Courtenay

Lionel Thomas Courtenay was an Australian politician. Born in Sydney, where he was educated, he became a builder and a company director. He was involved in local politics, sitting on Mascot Council, Mosman Council and Sydney City Council. In 1932, he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative...

, who had died 11 days after being sworn in. In the 1937 federal election

Australian federal election, 1937

Federal elections were held in Australia on 23 October 1937. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...

, an election was held for four NSW Senate seats, all of which were won by the Labor Party using the infamous "four A's" strategy, whereby the ALP selected candidates whose names all began with the letter A.

Arkins returned to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, winning Dulwich Hill

Electoral district of Dulwich Hill

Dulwich Hill was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, created in 1913, and named after and including the Sydney suburb of Dulwich Hill. With the introduction of proportional representation, it was absorbed into the multi-member electorate of...

in 1938 and holding it until 1941. He died in 1980.