Albert William Robinson (20 May 1877 – 25 May 1943) was an Australian

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and long serving member of the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...

. Born in Lyndoch, South Australia to George Septimus Robinson, publican and grazier, and his wife Lucy, Robinson was educated in Clare and Roseworthy Agricultural College, where he studied

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

, before commencing work as a pastoralist on his father's property "Werocata" near

Balaklava Balaklava ( Ukrainian and , , ) is a settlement on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol. It is an administrative center of Balaklavsky District that used to be part of the Crimean Oblast before it was transferred to Sevast ...

. Robinson married Edith Laine in 1904; the marriage produced three daughters and three sons. His stature in the area led to his election as President of the Balaklava-Dalkey Agricultural Society, Chairman of the Balaklava Racing Club and vice-president of the Farmers and Producers Political Union. Robinson used this local prominence to good effect by gaining Liberal Union pre-selection for the South Australian House of Assembly Electoral district of Wooroora at the 1915 election. During his time in parliament, Robinson chaired the influential Government Railways Standing Committee and through this influence in combination with the wealth he had gained from farming, Robinson was considered a possible future

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier i ...

. He surprisingly lost his seat as a Liberal Federation candidate at the 1924 election, when the Labor Party swept to power. Robinson remained involved in Liberal politics and was appointed by the South Australian parliament in April 1928 to the senate position vacated by Sir

Henry Barwell Sir Henry Newman Barwell KCMG (26 February 187730 September 1959) was the 28th premier of South Australia. Early life Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Barwell was educated at St Peter's College and the University of Adelaide, graduating in ...

upon the latter's resignation to become

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n Agent-General in London. Robinson sat with the

Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party, also known as the National Party, was an Australian political party. It was formed in February 1917 from a merger between the Commonwealth Liberal Party, Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the latter formed by ...

(the federal equivalent of the South Australian-based Liberal Federation) in the Senate for eight months before his defeat at the 1928 federal election. He was a strong supporter of regional development (he had been heavily involved in the development of

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

in the late 1930s), an increase in the birth rate and thrift. Angry with his perceived poor treatment by the Liberal Federation, Robinson resigned from the party and again ran for Wooroora but as an independent candidate at a by-election in 1934. Although he could not find a scrutineer in some towns and had no one attend a campaign meeting in another town, Robinson surprisingly won the by-election and, following an electoral redistribution, was comfortably elected as the member for the state seat of Gouger at the 1938 election. He was one of 14 of 39 lower house MPs at the 1938 election to be elected as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, which as a grouping won 40 percent of the primary vote, more than either of the major parties.

Tom Stott Tom Cleave Stott Order of the British Empire, CBE (6 June 1899 – 21 October 1976) spent 37 years as an independent member of the South Australian House of Assembly, from 1933 to 1970. He served as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assemb ...

was the de facto leader of the independent caucus within parliament. Following re-election at the 1941 election, Robinson died in office in 1943, survived by his widow, three daughters and one son. A son, George Albert, committed suicide in 1937 after shooting two of his infant children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Albert 1877 births 1943 deaths Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Independent members of the Parliament of South Australia Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia