Frederick William Bamford (11 February 184910 September 1934) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

from the inaugural 1901 federal election until his retirement in 1925, representing the electorate of

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territor ...

. He represented the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

until the 1916 Labor split, when he followed

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...

into the

National Labor Party The National Labor Party (NLP) was an Australian political party formed by Prime Minister Billy Hughes in November 1916, following the 1916 Labor split on the issue of World War I conscription in Australia. Hughes had taken over as leader of ...

and served as Minister for Home and Territories in the second Hughes Ministry (1916–1917). He remained in parliament until the age of 76.

Early life

Bamford was born in

Dubbo Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the ...

, New South Wales and educated at

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. He left school at 14 and worked as a carpenter around the Toowoomba area for many years. In September 1871 he married Mary Ann Miller. In July 1872, he began a building and carpentry partnership in

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airport ...

with a colleague from Toowoomba; however, the partnership was dissolved that December after a falling-out, and he thereafter operated a furniture shop in Mackay before being declared bankrupt in April 1884. He worked as a sleeper-inspector on the under-construction Bowen railway and then as inspector of railway bridges in the Cairns area and was discharged from bankruptcy in November 1885. Bamford moved to Bowen 1892 and operated the Sportsmans Arms Hotel there from early 1894, later shifting to the Railway Hotel, which he operated until the time of his election. He also became the local secretary of the licensed victuallers' association. He was elected as a councillor of the

Borough of Bowen A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Age ...

in 1897 and was elected mayor in 1898. He resigned from the council in July 1899 and thereafter worked as a journalist for a

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

newspaper. He made two unsuccessful candidacies for the

Parliament of Queensland The Parliament of Queensland is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature, legislative body of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists o ...

in 1896 and 1899. Portrait of Frederick William Bamford

Federal Parliament

Bamford narrowly won the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

seat of

at the 1901 election as the

candidate, campaigning specifically against the employment of

Kanakas Kanakas were workers (a mix of voluntary and Blackbirding, involuntary) from various Pacific Islands employed in British Empire, British colonies, such as British Columbia (Canada), Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Queen ...

in the North Queensland sugar cane fields. In parliament, he spoke frequently in support of the White Australia policy and subsidies and protection for the sugar industry. From 1902 to 1916, he was vice-president of the

Waterside Workers' Federation Waterside may refer to: Places Canada *RBC Waterside Centre, a commercial development in Halifax, Nova Scotia *Waterside, New Brunswick Nigeria *Aba River (Nigeria), also known as Waterside United Kingdom *Waterside, East Ayrshire *Waterside, ...

while

was its president. He was chairman of the 1913 Royal Commission on the Pearling Industry and the 1915 Royal Commission on New Hebrides mail service. In July 1915, Bamford became the first member to speak in favour of the introduction of

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

during World War I. He was expelled from the Labor Party on 30 October 1916 and was Minister for Home and Territories in Hughes'

ministry from 14 November to 17 February 1917. He served as chairman of committees from 1923 to 1925. He retired from parliament at the 1925 election.

Later life

Bamford moved to Sydney, where he died in 1934, survived by three sons and two daughters. He was cremated at

Rookwood Crematorium Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating cemetery from the ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamford, Frederick William Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Herbert Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Cabinet of Australia 1849 births 1934 deaths People from North Queensland Mayors of places in Queensland Queensland local councillors Australian cabinetmakers National Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Australian MPs 1901–1903 Australian MPs 1903–1906 Australian MPs 1906–1910 Australian MPs 1910–1913 Australian MPs 1913–1914 Australian MPs 1914–1917 Australian MPs 1917–1919 Australian MPs 1919–1922 Australian MPs 1922–1925