Arthur Hill Griffith
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Arthur Hill Griffith (16 October 1861 – 1 November 1946) was a politician, teacher and patent attorney in New South Wales, Australia. He was 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 Ho ...
from 1894 until 1917 and held a number of ministerial positions in the
Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
. He was a member of the Labor Party.


Early life

Griffith was born in
Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...
, Ireland, to Arthur Hill Griffith (1810-1881), a
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
, and his second wife, Hannah Rose Cottingham (1826-1921), daughter of James Courtney Morton Cottingham, Esquire (1788 - 1876), and Hannah Robinson. His paternal grandfather was Richard Griffith, MP, whose son,
Sir Richard Griffith, 1st Baronet Sir Richard John Griffith Bt. FRS FRSE FGS LLD (20 September 1784 – 22 September 1878), was an Irish geologist, mining engineer and chairman of the Board of Works of Ireland, who completed the first complete geological map of Ireland and wa ...
, was his uncle. His great-grandmother was the noted actress and writer
Elizabeth Griffith Elizabeth Griffith (1727 – 5 January 1793) was an 18th-century Welsh-born dramatist, fiction writer, essayist and actress, who lived and worked in Ireland. Biography Elizabeth Griffith was born in Glamorgan, Wales, to Dublin theater manager ...
. The Griffith family descends from the Dukes of Penrhyn. His siblings included Christopher Arthur Griffith (1858 - 1949), a physician, and Edward Arthur Griffith (1857-1949), a mining attorney, whose descendants include Jules-Arthur Paré (1917-2013), Professor Emeritus of
McGill University Faculty of Medicine The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University. It was established in 1829 after the Montreal Medical Institution was incorporated into McGill College as the college's first faculty; it was t ...
, and his granddaughter, celebrated actress
Jessica Paré Jessica Paré (born December 5, 1980) is a Canadian actress and singer known for her co-starring roles on the AMC series ''Mad Men'' and the CBS series '' SEAL Team''. She has also appeared in the films '' Stardom'' (2000), ''Lost and Delirious'' ...
. In 1871, Griffith emigrated with his family from Ireland to
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia.


Political career

Despite residing in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Griffith was the candidate for the Labor Party (ALP) for the seat of
Waratah Waratah (''Telopea'') is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania). The best-known species in this genus is ''Telopea speci ...
at the state election held on 12 July 1894. He was successful with 820 votes (44%) and was re-elected at elections in 1895, 1898 and 1901. In 1903 he resigned his seat to contest a
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
seat for
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
at the 1903 federal election. He was unsuccessful and as the by-election for Waratah was held prior to the Senate election, Griffith was denied the chance to recontest. In the following year, he was successful as the endorsed Labor candidate for the seat of Sturt (based on the mining town of
Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
) at the general election of 6 August. Griffith was re-elected unopposed at the 1907 election but resigned from parliament the following year in protest at being suspended by the
speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...
when he protested the Speaker's alleged procedural unfairness. He won the subsequent by-election unopposed and continued to represent Sturt until the general election of 15 November 1913. A redistribution of state electorates resulted in Griffith stepping aside for John Cann the member for the abolished seat of
Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
. He successfully contested the Sydney electorate of Annandale, defeating the sitting member
Albert Bruntnell Albert Bruntnell (4 August 1866 – 31 January 1929) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1906 until his death and held a number of ministerial positions in the Government of New South Wa ...
.


Ministerial career

In the New South Wales Labor Governments of
James McGowen James Sinclair Taylor McGowen (16 August 1855 – 7 April 1922) was an Australian politician. He served as premier of New South Wales from 1910 to 1913, the first member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to hold the position, and was a key f ...
and
William Holman William Arthur Holman (4 August 1871 – 5 June 1934) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1913 to 1920. He came to office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), Labor Party, ...
he was the Minister for Public Works. From March 1915 until November 1916, he was the Minister of Public Instruction. As Minister for Public Works, Griffith encouraged the growth of state enterprises and increased spending on railway construction. Griffith had consistently advocated for the greater industrialization of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
, then, Under Holman, he personally negotiated the establishment of a steelworks in Newcastle with Guillaume Delprat of
BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
, and was the architect of the
Walsh Island Walsh Island or Walshisland () is a village in County Offaly, Ireland. It takes its name from the surrounding hinterland which is a fertile area of land on a hill (104m) located in an area of bogland known as the Bog of Allen, (hence, "island ...
establishment; though
censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...
d by the 1913 party conference cabinet for it, the scheme proved successful.


Expulsion from Labor Party

During the Labor split over conscription in World War I he supported conscription but resigned from the government on 31 October 1916 when Holman confirmed that he was considering entering into a coalition with the Liberal Reform Party, stating that he could not join in the coalition, having battled all his life for the labor movement. He was expelled from the Labor Party because of his support for conscription, and contested the 24 March 1917 election as an independent labor candidate. He was defeated by
William O'Brien William O'Brien (2 October 1852 – 25 February 1928) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, agrarian agitator, social revolutionary, politician, party leader, newspaper publisher, author and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of ...
the official Labor candidate by 154 votes (2.0%). He stood as an independent at the 1920 election for Balmain, but polled only 165 votes (0.5%). He attempted to be readmitted to the Labor party in the 1920s, succeeding in 1930, only to have his readmission rescinded. The New South Wales branch of the Labor party was expelled by the Federal Executive during the Federal Conference in March 1931, and Griffith was on the executive of the Federal Labor Party and was unsuccessful in the 1932 election for Waratah. Griffith was one of the best known middle-class, professional supporters of the Labor party in its first 25 years. He maintained a socialist and republican stance throughout his public career.


Personal life

Giffith married Mildred Carrington Smith on 4 May 1899 and they had a son Sturt. Mildred died on 21 October 1926. On 22 October 1932 he married a second time to Elsie Marion Edwards and they had a son and a daughter. He died at
Jannali Jannali is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Jannali is located 28 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. The majority of land use in ...
on .


Honours

As Secretary for Public Works he was responsible for the
Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) is geographically located within the Riverina area of New South Wales. It was created to control and divert the flow of local river and creek systems for the purpose of food production. The main river s ...
project which established a number of towns, including
Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...
which was named after him.


See also

* * *
History of the steel industry (1850–1970) Before 1800 A.D., the iron and steel industry located where raw material power supply and running water were easily available. After 1950, iron and steel industry began to located on large areas of flat land near sea ports. The history of the mode ...


References

* .   {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Arthur Hill 1861 births 1946 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly History of Newcastle, New South Wales Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Politicians from Sydney