Arthur Blakeley (3 July 1886 – 27 June 1972) was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1917 to 1934, representing the Labor Party. He was the party's deputy leader from 1928 to 1929 and served as Minister for Home Affairs in the Scullin Government (1929–1932).

Early life

Blakeley was born on 3 July 1886 in Gilberton, South Australia. He was the son of Catherine Ann (née Greenwood) and Simeon Blakeley, his father being a house-painter from Yorkshire, England. When he was young, the family moved to

Broken Hill, New South Wales Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

, where he attended a convent school. Blakeley was educated to the age of 13, when he left school to work in the mining camps. He later worked as a

shearer A shearer is someone who shears, such as a cloth shearer, or a sheep shearer. Origins of the name include from near Bergen in Norway 1600s weden of that periodas ''Skea'' (pronounced "Skeg" meaning "beard") and Heddle (meaning market place) as mig ...

. In 1912, he became an organiser for the Australian Workers' Union (AWU). He served as secretary of its western branch from 1915 to 1917, based in Bourke, New South Wales. Blakeley married Ruby Pauline McCarroll in 1914, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.

Political career

In the 1917 election, Blakeley was elected as the member for

Darling Darling is a term of endearment of Old English origin. Darling or Darlin' or Darlings may also refer to: People * Darling (surname) * Darling Jimenez (born 1980), American boxer * Darling Légitimus (1907–1999), French actress Places Austral ...

in the Australian House of Representatives after a sustained campaign against

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

. He was president of the Australian Workers' Union from 1919 to 1923. In April 1928, he was elected deputy leader of the parliamentary party, but lost it in 1929 to Ted Theodore. On the election of the Scullin government, Blakeley became Minister for Home and Territories until Labor's defeat at the 1931 election. This position was responsible for the development of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and in 1930 he announced the establishment of a university college and in 1931, he abolished the Federal Capital Commission. On the advice of the Northern Territory Pastoral Lessees' Association, Blakeley oversaw the re-establishment of the single Northern Territory, which in 1926 had been split into the separate territories of

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and i ...

and

North Australia North Australia can refer to a short-lived former British colony, a former federal territory of the Commonwealth of Australia, or a proposed state which would replace the current Northern Territory. Colony (1846–1847) A colony of North Austr ...

. The territories were disestablished effective 11 June 1931 by legislation passed the previous year. In 1931, Blakeley also proposed the establishment of a special court for Indigenous people in the Northern Territory, similar to the later community courts. He stated a desire for "a simple tribunal, presided over by a person or persons with a thorough knowledge of native customs, who can sift native evidence ..I do not want a court restricted by all kinds of legal technicalities and procedures". At the 1934 election, Blakeley was defeated by the Lang Labor candidate, Joe Clark.

Later life

Blakeley moved to Melbourne and in 1935 he was appointed an inspector of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, which he worked for almost continuously until his retirement in 1952. His wife died in 1962, and he died in 1972 in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris, after a state funeral he was cremated. He was survived by two sons and two daughters.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blakeley, Arthur Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Darling Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Cabinet of Australia 1886 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians People from South Australia Australian people of English descent