William Patrick Ashley (20 September 1881 – 27 June 1958) was an Australian politician. Ashley was born at Singorambah, near

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

, New South Wales and educated at Hay. He went to South Africa in May 1902, but saw no action in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

and returned to Australia in August. He established himself as a tobacconist in Lithgow and married Theresa Ellen Maloney in July 1921. He served as an alderman and mayor on Lithgow Council.

Political career

Ashley was pre-selected 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 ...

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 ...

ticket for the 1937 election, partly because his surname would appear high on the ballot paper under the alphabetical system then in effect. With the fall of the Fadden government, he became

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 ...

and Minister for Information in the Curtin government. In March 1943, he lost the portfolio of information, but gained the position of

Vice-President of the Executive Council The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executiv ...

. In February 1945, he became Minister for Supply and Shipping. In a minor reshuffle in April 1948, Ashley became Minister for Shipping and Fuel, responsible for the Department of Shipping and Fuel. In June 1949, his handling of a scheme to introduce long-service leave for coal miners contributed to a major ensuing strike. He had implied that the federal government would contribute financially to the scheme, but this proved not to be the case. In addition, the proposed scheme might have limited the right to strike. He also attempted to support British economic recovery by buying oil from British companies—when they ran short of supplies, he was forced to impose petrol rationing. Both the coal miners' strike and the fuel rationing contributed to Labor's defeat at the 1949 election. He stayed in the Senate for the rest of his life and supported

H. V. Evatt Herbert Vere Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a judge of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs from 1941 to 1949, and l ...

against the

Industrial Groups The Industrial Groups were groups formed by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the late 1940s, to replace Communist Party influence in the trade unions with groups controlled by B. A. Santamaria's "Movement" which had infiltrated the ALP in 1944 ...

. Ashley died in

Sydney Hospital Sydney Hospital is a major hospital in Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at its current location since 1811. It first rece ...

on 27 June 1958, survived by his wife and daughter. He had suffered a stroke earlier in the month, while being driven to an appointment for his arthritis treatment. He was accorded a state funeral. Ashley died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Bill 1881 births 1958 deaths Members of the Cabinet of Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Members of the Australian Senate 20th-century Australian politicians