Albert Ernest Green (21 December 1869 – 2 October 1940) was an Australian politician. He arrived in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in 1895, and represented the

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

area in both state and federal parliaments for the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

, as well as serving as

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

and later

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a Ministry (government department), ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having ...

in the Scullin Ministry.

Biography

Green was born and went to primary school in

Avoca, Victoria Avoca is a town in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north west of Ballarat. It is one of two main towns in the Pyrenees Shire, the other being Beaufort to the south. Geography The town stands in the gently undulating basin of the ...

, but left school to work for a telephone company in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

and later in the family's bricklaying business. He travelled in the United States and Central America between 1889 and 1895 and as a result was known as "Texas". He was active in the brickmasons' society at

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, and it was even suggested by one contemporary source that he had assisted revolutionary insurgents in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. In June 1895, he moved to

and established a branch of the

Australian Natives' Association The Australian Natives' Association (ANA) was a mutual society founded in Melbourne, Australia in April 1871. It was founded by and for the benefit of native-born white Australians and membership was restricted exclusively to that group. The A ...

(A.N.A.) in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. In November 1895, he became a postal clerk in the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

town of Coolgardie. He was soon transferred to nearby

, where he founded branches of the A.N.A. and the Post and Telegraphists' Union and became involved in local

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politics. He married Emily Eleanor Berry in January 1899 at St John's Church, Kalgoorlie

Political career

State politics

Green won the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

seat of

in the 1911 election, following the retirement of the independent member,

Norbert Keenan Sir Norbert Michael Keenan QC (30 January 1864 – 24 April 1954) was an Australian lawyer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1905 to 1911 and again from 1930 to 1950. He was the leader of the ...

. In December 1913, he resigned to seek pre-selection for the Federal seat of

but lost to

Hugh Mahon Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

. He was re-elected to the state seat in October 1914 and held it to March 1921, when he was defeated by the independent Nationalist candidate John Boyland. Between March 1921 and December 1922 he worked for the ''Westralian Worker'' newspaper.

Federal politics

Green won the federal Kalgoorlie seat at the 1922 election, defeating the incumbent Nationalist member

George Foley George James Foley (28 November 1872 – 27 October 1945) was an Australian politician from Western Australia. He was the member for the Western Australian seat of Electoral district of Mount Leonora, Mount Leonora from 1911 until 1920, initial ...

, and held it until his death. He campaigned for a strong

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

and was appointed

in the

Scullin government Scullin may refer to: In places: * Scullin, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Division of Scullin, an electorate in the Australian House of Representatives People with the surname Scullin: * James Scullin (1876–1953), Prime Mi ...

in October 1929. Despite the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, he implemented a training scheme for Australian pilots and purchased several aircraft. He also abolished compulsory military service. In February 1931, following the resignation of

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...

, he was appointed

and Minister for Works and Railways. He was upset by Lyons' defection from the Labor Party and, according to

Geoffrey Bolton Geoffrey Curgenven Bolton (5 November 1931 – 3 September 2015) was an Australian historian, academic and writer. Life He attended Wesley College, Perth from 1943 to 1947. He published works on Australian history, authoring 13 books, his fina ...

, Green chased Lyons' train along the

Canberra railway station Canberra railway station is located on thNSW TrainLink Regional Southern Linein the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. It is located in the Canberra suburb of Kingston. History In March 1913, work began on a new 8.5 kilometre rail link ...

platform shouting "For God's sake, don't do it, Joe!" In opposition after the 1931 election, he campaigned for fellow Western Australian

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

to be elected party leader.

Death

Green died at East Coolgardie on 2 October 1940, survived by his wife and three sons and a daughter.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Albert Ernest 1869 births 1940 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Kalgoorlie Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Cabinet of Australia Defence ministers of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Postmasters General of Australia