Arthur George Poyser (13 February 1915 – 5 August 1986) was an Australian politician. Born 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 ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, he was educated at state schools in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, after which he became a textile worker and tramway worker. He served in the military 1940–1941. From 1961 to 1966 he was Secretary of the Geelong Trades Hall Council. In 1966, he was appointed to 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 ...

as a

Labor 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 ...

Senator for Victoria, filling the

casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...

caused by the death of Senator Charles Sandford. The

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the ...

dictated that a special Senate election had to be held at the same time as the lower house 1966 election; Poyser and the Country Party's James Webster, appointed after the death of

Harrie Wade Harrie Walter Wade OBE (10 January 1905 – 18 November 1964) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Country Party and served as a Senator for Victoria from 1956 until his death in 1964. He was the party's Senate leader and held ...

, were required to stand for election. Both were successful. Poyser was re-elected in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, remaining in the Senate until his retirement in 1975. He died at his home in Geelong in 1986, aged 71.

References

1915 births 1986 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Members of the Australian Senate Textile workers 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Labor-senator-stub