Rowland "Rowley" James (14 June 1885 – 4 July 1962) was an Australian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

. He was a member of 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 ...

from 1928 to 1958, representing the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

seat of

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

. He was a member of 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 ...

(ALP), although during the 1930s he was associated with the breakaway

Lang Labor Lang Labor was a faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) consisting of the supporters of Jack Lang, who served two terms as Premier of New South Wales and was the party's state leader from 1923 to 1939. It controlled the New South Wale ...

faction.

Early life

James was born on 14 June 1885 in

Lambton, New South Wales Lambton is a List of suburbs in Greater Newcastle, New South Wales, suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, from Newcastle's central business district. Early days The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are ackno ...

. He was the youngest of eleven children born to Welsh immigrant parents Mary Ann () and Moses James. His father was a coal miner. James attended a local public school before beginning work as a coal miner in the

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

district. In 1912, he moved to

Collie, Western Australia Collie is a town in the South West region of Western Australia, south of the state capital, Perth, and inland from the regional city and port of Bunbury. It is near the junction of the Collie and Harris Rivers, in the middle of dense jarrah ...

, where he was lodge secretary of the Collie River District Miners' Union of Workers. He returned to New South Wales in 1916 and was an officeholder in the Australasian Coal and Shale Employees' Federation, representing the northern district on the union's central council. In 1928, he sought to succeed Daniel Rees as general president of the federation, but withdrew to stand for parliament.

Politics

James was elected to 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. ...

for the

in 1928, succeeding former Labor leader

Matthew Charlton Matthew Charlton (15 March 1866 – 8 December 1948) was an Australian politician who served as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition from 1922 to 1928. He led the party to ...

in the seat of

. He was a critic of both the conservative government of

Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne (15 April 1883 – 25 August 1967) was an Australian politician, statesman and businessman who served as the eighth prime minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929. He held office as ...

and the Labor government of

James Scullin James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 – 28 January 1953) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the ninth prime minister of Australia from 1929 to 1932. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), ...

for not prosecuting mine-owners during the protracted miner lock-out in northern New South Wales (1929–30), which led to accusations of inciting

mob violence A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

; ''

Smith's Weekly ''Smith's Weekly'' was an Australian tabloid newspaper published from 1919 to 1950. It was an independent weekly published in Sydney, but read all over Australia. History The publication took its name from its founder and chief financer Sir ...

'' published his record of convictions, including

drunkenness Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...

and assaulting police. A supporter of Jack Lang's proposal that New South Wales should not repay interest to British bond-holders in the height of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, James joined

Jack Beasley John Albert Beasley (9 November 1895 – 2 September 1949) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1928 to 1946. He served in the Australian War Cabinet from 1941 ...

Party, along with six other New South Wales MPs, who voted in opposition to defeat the Scullin government. At the ensuing elections, both Labor parties lost heavily but James easily retained his seat. Re-admitted to the ALP in 1936, James was chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

from 1943, and led the Australian delegation to the first

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

coal-mining committee in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1945. He continued to be prominent in coal-mining affairs, and his support for

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician and train driver who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), and was n ...

's stand on the 1949 coal strike prompted some to express a desire to expel him from the Miners' Federation. A man who disliked convention, James was succeeded in the seat of Hunter in 1958 by ALP leader

H. V. Evatt Herbert Vere "Doc" Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a justice of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General of Australia, Attorney-General and Minister for For ...

, who was in turn succeeded by James' son Bert. James died on 4 July 1962 in the Sydney suburb of Ashfield, and was survived by his wife, daughter and three of his five sons.

Personal life

James married Gladys Mary Davies in 1912, with whom he had a daughter and five sons. He died on 4 July 1962 in

Ashfield, New South Wales Ashfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is about eight kilometres west of the Sydney central business district. Ashfield's population is highly multicultural with the majority of the area's d ...

, aged 77. Two of his sons predeceased him. James's son William Thomas James was a fitter on the NSW Railways, and he was shot and killed by Roy Hindle at the South Maitland railway workshop on 20 November 1941. Hindle was acquitted of the charge of murder.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Rowland Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Lang Labor members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Hunter 1885 births 1962 deaths Australian people of Welsh descent Politicians from Newcastle, New South Wales Australian coal miners Australian trade unionists Members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian MPs 1928–1929 Australian MPs 1929–1931 Australian MPs 1931–1934 Australian MPs 1934–1937 Australian MPs 1937–1940 Australian MPs 1940–1943 Australian MPs 1943–1946 Australian MPs 1946–1949 Australian MPs 1949–1951 Australian MPs 1951–1954 Australian MPs 1954–1955 Australian MPs 1955–1958