Arthur Thomas (Spence) Powell (8 August 1903 – 9 July 1970) was an Australian politician and a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

from 1950 until 1962. He was a member of the Labor Party (ALP). Powell was born in

Pyrmont, New South Wales Pyrmont is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 2 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. It is also part of the Darling Harbour ...

, and was the son of a bridge builder. He was educated at Marist Brothers High School Darlinghurst and worked as a fitter for a number of employees including the

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of diffe ...

. He was an official with the

Amalgamated Engineering Union The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992. History The history of ...

and became involved with community organisations including the Greyhound Racing Association and the board of Bankstown Hospital. Powell was elected as a councillor at Wyong Shire in 1962–5. He was elected to the New South Wales Parliament as the Labor member for the seat of

Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, ...

at the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

state election after the sitting Labor member and Premier

James McGirr James "Jim" McGirr, JP (6 February 1890 – 27 October 1957) was the Labor Premier of New South Wales from 6 February 1947 to 3 April 1952. A Catholic, McGirr was the seventh son of John Patrick McGirr, farmer and Irish immigrant, and Mary M ...

decided to stand for the new seat of

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. He retained the seat for the Labor Party at the next three elections and retired at the

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wo ...

election. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office.

References

1903 births 1970 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Labor-NewSouthWales-MP-stub