Joseph Silver Collings (11 May 1865 – 20 June 1955) was a long-serving Australian politician. He was a hardworking Australian Labor Party bureaucrat with valuable writing and speaking talents, who was eventually rewarded by a five-year stint as a federal government minister.

Early life

Collings was born in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England and educated at Brighton Board School and by his parents. He reported for the ''Sussex Daily News'' before emigrating with his parents to Brisbane when he was 18. He worked as a farm labourer, failed as a selector and, in 1885, married Kate McInerney. He found work in the footwear industry and was at one time secretary of the ''Queensland Boot and Shoe Manufacturers' Association''. He worked with " scabs" during a strike in 1895 and was ostracised by the

Australian Boot Trade Employees' Federation The Australian Boot Trade Employees' Federation (ABTEF) was an Australian trade union which existed from 1908 to 1987.Smith, Bruce A. created 20 April 2001, last modified 6 August 2010. Trade Union Entry: Australian Boot Trade Employees Federati ...

although he worked hard for the labour movement. His support for the 1912 Brisbane general strike led to him being forgiven by the unions and he subsequently established the Federated Clerks' Union in Queensland.

Political career

Collings unsuccessfully contested elections to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in 1908, 1909, and 1915, but was elected to

Balmoral Shire Council The Shire of Balmoral is a former local government areas of Queensland, local government area of Queensland, Australia, located in eastern Brisbane. History The Bulimba Division was one of the original divisions created on 11 November 1879 unde ...

from 1910 to 1913. He attended Labor Party conventions from 1905 and was elected to the Queensland central executive of the party between 1913 and 1928. From 1914 to 1915 and 1919 to 1931 he was an organiser for the party. In 1916 he campaigned vigorously 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 ...

in Queensland and Victoria. He was appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council in 1920 and took part in the successful vote to abolish it in 1922. In 1931 he was organising secretary for the provisional state executive set up by the federal party to replace the expelled Lang Labor executive. Collings was elected the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

and became Leader of the Opposition in the Senate in 1935 and Leader of the Government in the Senate with the coming to power of the Curtin government in October 1941. At the same time he became

Minister for the Interior Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

, a position he held until July 1945, when he became Vice-President of the Executive Council, a position he held until November 1946. He did not contest the 1949 election and retired from the Senate in June 1950. Along with Gordon Brown, Collings was joint Father of the Senate from 1947 to 1950. Collings, at 85 years of age, remains the oldest person to have served in the Senate.

Later life

After retiring, Collings and settled in the Brisbane seaside suburb of

. Collings died at his home, 694 Flinders Parade, Brighton on 20 June 1955, survived by one son(Eric) and one daughter of his six children. He was accorded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

and cremated.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collings, Joe Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Cabinet of Australia 1865 births 1955 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Australian trade unionists People from Brighton 20th-century Australian politicians British emigrants to Australia