William Keast (New South Wales politician)
Encyclopedia
Theophilus William John Keast (6 June 1872 - 16 September 1938) was an Australia
n politician. He was an Australian Labor Party
member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
from 1930 to 1932, representing the electorate of Ashburnham
.
Keast was born at Creswick
in Victoria
, but moved with his family to Parkes
at an early age. He worked as an engine driver for a period, during which time he lost an eye in an accident. He operated a bakery from 1903 to 1910, when he sold out and established another bakery at Bogan Gate
. He worked as a stock and station agent from 1914 to 1918; from 1918 onwards he was a farmer at Bogan Gate. He was an alderman of the Parkes Shire Council from 1925 until 1931 and 1933 until 1938, serving as mayor from 1929 to 1930. He also served for a time as chairman of the Parkes District Hospital Board.
Keast was preselected to contest the newly recreated seat of Ashburnham for Labor at the 1927 state election
, but was defeated by Edmund Best, then the MLA for Murrumbidgee
. He recontested the seat at the 1930 election
, and defeated Best amidst Labor's landslide victory under Jack Lang
. His time in politics was to be short-lived, however; the Lang government was sacked by the state Governor in 1932, and Keast was one of many Labor MLAs to lose at the subsequent election. He attempted to regain the seat in 1935, but was again unsuccessful.
Keast died at Parkes in 1938.
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 an 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...
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 1932, representing the electorate of Ashburnham
Electoral district of Ashburnham
Ashburnham was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1894 in the Parkes area and named after Ashburnham County. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, it was absorbed into Murrumbidgee, along with...
.
Keast was born at Creswick
Creswick, Victoria
Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 129 km northwest of Melbourne, in Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census, Creswick had a population of 2,485...
in 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....
, but moved with his family to Parkes
Parkes, New South Wales
- Transport :Parkes has a local bus service provided by Western Road Liners, which acquired Harris Bus Lines in March 2006. The Indian Pacific also stops twice a week, as well as the Broken Hill Outback Xplorer service, run by CountryLink, which heads to Broken Hill on Mondays and Sydney on...
at an early age. He worked as an engine driver for a period, during which time he lost an eye in an accident. He operated a bakery from 1903 to 1910, when he sold out and established another bakery at Bogan Gate
Bogan Gate, New South Wales
Bogan Gate is a small village in Parkes Shire of the Central West of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Bogan Gate and the surrounding area had a population of 253....
. He worked as a stock and station agent from 1914 to 1918; from 1918 onwards he was a farmer at Bogan Gate. He was an alderman of the Parkes Shire Council from 1925 until 1931 and 1933 until 1938, serving as mayor from 1929 to 1930. He also served for a time as chairman of the Parkes District Hospital Board.
Keast was preselected to contest the newly recreated seat of Ashburnham for Labor at the 1927 state election
New South Wales state election, 1927
The 1927 New South Wales state election to elect the 90 members of the 28th Legislative Assembly was held on 8 October 1927. During the previous parliament the voting system, which had been a form of proportional representation with multi-member seats and a single transferable vote , was changed...
, but was defeated by Edmund Best, then the MLA for Murrumbidgee
Electoral district of Murrumbidgee
Murrumbidgee is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, named after the Murrumbidgee River. It is represented by Adrian Piccoli of the National Party of Australia....
. He recontested the seat 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...
, and defeated Best amidst Labor's landslide victory under Jack Lang
Jack Lang (Australian politician)
John Thomas Lang , usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, and familiarly known as "Jack" and nicknamed "The Big Fella" was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales for two terms...
. His time in politics was to be short-lived, however; the Lang government was sacked by the state Governor in 1932, and Keast was one of many Labor MLAs to lose at the subsequent election. He attempted to regain the seat in 1935, but was again unsuccessful.
Keast died at Parkes in 1938.