Walter Peden Joyce Skelton MBE (28 March 1883 – 21 May 1979) was an Australian politician, elected as 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 ...

. Skelton was born in

Boggabri, New South Wales Boggabri ( ) is a small town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. It is part of Narrabri Shire and lies between Gunnedah and Narrabri on the Kamilaroi Highway. At the , the town had a population of 885 people. History The original ...

, ninth child of a railway fettler, educated at Boggabri Public School and brought up as a strict Protestant. In 1898 he joined

New South Wales Government Railways New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in the colony, and then the state, of New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. History The NSWGR built ...

and in October 1904 he married Annie Porter Gray and they had a son and four daughters. He became a stationmaster in 1908 and worked at Matong,

Jerilderie Jerilderie is a small, rural town in the central Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Murrumbidgee Council Local government areas of New South Wales, Local Government Area. At the , Jerilderie had a pop ...

Boggabri Boggabri ( ) is a small town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. It is part of Narrabri Shire and lies between Gunnedah and Narrabri on the Kamilaroi Highway. At the , the town had a population of 885 people. History The original to ...

Carrathool Carrathool is a village in the western Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, in Carrathool Shire. In , Carrathool had a population of 296 people. It is about north of the Sturt Highway between Darlington Point and Hay (on the opposit ...

and Cockle Creek. His wife died in 1912 and he married Alexie Muriel Stewart in 1916 and they had three daughters and three sons. Skelton and fellow members of the New South Wales Protestant Federation reacted strongly to the alleged kidnapping of an "escaped" nun Sister Mary Liguori in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1921 and Skelton created the Protestant Independent Labour Party. In 1922, he was elected first of five members, receiving 25.19% of the vote, for the seat of

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 ...

. In parliament, he campaigned for free education,

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

by referendum and the interests of railway workers. He was re-elected in 1925. With the abolition of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

in 1927, he stood as a candidate for the single-member electorates of

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

, but was defeated by the Labor candidate, receiving 42.19% of the vote. Skelton stood again for the 1928 Hamilton by-election but was again defeated by the Labor candidate, receiving 48.78% of the vote after the distribution of preferences. He was also unsuccessful in standing for the federal seat of

in 1928 and 1931. Skelton helped to establish the National Union of Railwaymen of Australia, a dissident union drawing together members of smaller unions formed by rail workers who had been expelled from the

Australian Railways Union The Australian Railways Union (ARU) was an Australian trade union in existence from 1920 to 1993. The ARU was an industrial union, representing all types of workers employed in the rail industry, excluding locomotive enginedrivers and tradesm ...

for strike-breaking during the 1917 rail strike. He died in the Sydney suburb of

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

, survived by his wife and their three sons and three daughters and two daughters from his first marriage.

Honours

Skelton was made a

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1962 and named "Senior Citizen of the Year" in 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skelton, Walter Peden Joyce 1883 births 1979 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Australian politicians