See also William Archibald (disambiguation)

William Archibald (disambiguation)

William Archibald was an English-born Australian politician.William Archibald may also refer to:*William Munroe Archibald , Canadian aviator...

 for other people with similar names.

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William Oliver Archibald (3 June 1850 – 28 June 1926) was a member of the Australian House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 and the South Australian House of Assembly

South Australian House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...

.

Early life

Born in St Pancras

St Pancras, London

St Pancras is an area of London. For many centuries the name has been used for various officially-designated areas, but now is used informally and rarely having been largely superseded by several other names for overlapping districts.-Ancient parish:...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Archibald was orphaned at 10 and educated to primary school level in England, then worked as an apprentice piano builder before emigrating first to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 in 1879 and thence to 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...

 and Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 in 1881 before arriving in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 in 1882.

Archibald was initially employed on the Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. It lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and is the main port for the city of Adelaide...

 wharves before working for the South Australian Government Railway workshop, where he was elected to the executive council of the Railway Services Mutual Association.

Political career

A foundation member of the United Labor Party (the predecessor 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...

), Archibald gained pre-selection for the South Australian House of Assembly Electoral district of Port Adelaide

Electoral district of Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after Port Adelaide because of its geographical location, it is a 113.4 km² urban electorate on Adelaide's Lefevre Peninsula and stretches east to cove some of Adelaide's northern...

 and was comfortably elected at the 1893 election.

Archibald rose to prominence in parliament and gained a reputation as a "hard-working member who always thoroughly mastered his subject". He also successfully introduced a number of important bills into parliament, including legislation on social issues like the establishment of public libraries, worker's compensation and rent relief. Archibald also found time to serve as President of the South Australian branch of the Labor Party from 1901-02 and Caucus chairman from 1905-08.

Archibald retired from state parliament in 1910 in order to stand as the Labor candidate for the safe federal seat of Hindmarsh

Division of Hindmarsh

The Division of Hindmarsh is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia covering the western gulfside suburbs of Adelaide.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Sir John Hindmarsh, who was Governor of South Australia 1836-38. For many years it was one of the safest Labor seats...

 at the 1910 election

Australian federal election, 1910

Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 April 1910. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...

. He was elected unopposed.

After travelling to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 as an official Australian parliament representative to the coronation of King George V

George V of the United Kingdom

George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....

 in 1911, Archibald was re-elected in 1913

Australian federal election, 1913

Federal elections were held in Australia on 31 May 1913. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Andrew Fisher was defeated by the opposition Commonwealth Liberal...

 and 1914

Australian federal election, 1914

Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 September 1914. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 36 seats in the Senate were up for election in a double dissolution...

 and appointed Minister for Home Affairs

Minister for Home Affairs (Australia)

The Australian Minister for Home Affairs has been Brendan O'Connor since 6 June 2009. The Home Affairs portfolio brings together agencies such as the Australian Customs Service , the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, which were previously the...

 by 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...

 Andrew Fisher

Andrew Fisher

Andrew Fisher was an Australian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister on three separate occasions. Fisher's 1910-13 Labor ministry completed a vast legislative programme which made him, along with Protectionist Alfred Deakin, the founder of the statutory structure of the new nation...

.

In 1916, an internal party row 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...

 led to a split in the ALP and Archibald, along with Prime Minister and Labor leader Billy Hughes

Billy Hughes

William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....

, left the ALP to form the National Labor Party

National Labor Party

The National Labor Party was the name used by the Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes for himself and his followers after he was expelled from the Australian Labor Party in November 1916 over his pro-conscription stance in relation to World War I...

. For his support, Hughes appointed Archibald Minister for Trade and Customs

Minister for Trade (Australia)

The Australian Minister for Trade has been Dr. Craig Emerson since 14 September 2010.-Portfolio:Currently the Minister for Trade administers the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade jointly with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, although prior to 1987 there was a separate Department of Trade...

 in the short lived Second Hughes Ministry

Second Hughes Ministry

The Second Hughes Ministry was the thirteenth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 14 November 1916 to 17 February 1917.National Labor Party*Rt Hon Billy Hughes, MP: Prime Minister, Attorney-General*Senator Hon George Pearce: Minister for Defence...

. Archibald subsequently lost his seat in the 1919 general election.

An unforgettable character in parliament, Archibald was described as "rugged and strong with burly physique, bow legs and a bullet-like head" who "slaughter(ed) the English language with pitiless ferocity every time he talk(ed)". However, Archibald was also universally respected in the House and was considered one of the best-read members of parliament.

Late life

The thrice married Archibald worked as a book-seller in Semaphore

Semaphore, South Australia

Semaphore is a north-western seaside suburb of Adelaide of the LeFevre Peninsula 14km from the CBD, in the state of South Australia, Australia and falls under the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It is adjacent to Semaphore South, Glanville, Exeter and Largs Bay. The postcode for Semaphore is 5019...

 until his retirement and died in Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

in 1926. He was survived by his third wife and a son and daughter from his first marriage.