Fergie Reid (1849 – 18 November 1924) was an Australian

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

and politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

from 1901 to 1904, representing the seat of Mount Burges. Reid was born in

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

, Scotland, and began working in the mines in

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

at the age of twelve. He emigrated to Australia in 1878, initially living in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

, where he became involved in the growing labour movement. Reid arrived in Western Australia in 1896, and lived for periods in Leonora, Malcolm, and Coolgardie. He was a branch official of the Australian Workers' Association in the Eastern Goldfields, and was also a justice of the peace.Fergie Reid
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 6 June 2016. Reid entered parliament at the 1901 state election, winning the newly created seat of Mount Burges. His seat was abolished at the 1904 election, and he unsuccessfully sought Labor

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

for the seat of Yilgarn, losing to Austin Horan. At the 1904

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

elections, Reid was preselected as the Labor candidate for

Metropolitan Province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of Ecclesiastical jurisdiction, jurisdiction in Christianity, Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical struc ...

, but a last-minute mix-up meant his nomination did not go through. The only other nominee,

George Randell George Randell (5 October 1830 – 2 June 1915) was an Australian businessman and politician. He served intermittently in the Parliament of Western Australia between 1875 and 1910, including as a minister in the government of Sir John Forrest ...

, was consequently re-elected unopposed. Reid again stood for parliament at the 1905 state election, running for Yilgarn as an Independent Labor candidate against Austin Horan, his old opponent for preselection. He had the support of a respected former MP, William Oats,"MR. REID AT SOUTHERN CROSS."
''

Kalgoorlie Miner ''The Kalgoorlie Miner'' (commonly known as ''The Miner'') is a daily newspaper circulating in the City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder and the Goldfields–Esperance region, in Western Australia. It is published Monday to Saturday by Hocking & Co. ...

'', 24 October 1905. but was defeated with 41.3 percent of the vote. After leaving parliament, Reid lived in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and Dulbelling for periods, eventually retiring to Perth, where he died in 1924. He had married Rachel Menzies in 1874, with whom he had nine children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Fergie 1849 births 1924 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Trade unionists from Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Ayrshire Scottish emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian politicians