William Matthew Rigby (14 October 1923 – 2 June 2003) was an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party 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 1959 to 1965, representing the electorate of

Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...

. Rigby was born in

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 ...

, and educated at Summer Hill High School 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 ...

. He worked as a clerk in the stores branch of the Railways Department prior to entering state politics. He served as a private in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from 1943 to 1945, returning to his prior role as a clerk thereafter. He was seconded for a year as private secretary to state Minister for Housing

Clive Evatt Clive Raleigh Evatt (6 June 1900 – 15 September 1984) was an Australian politician, barrister and raconteur. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1939 until 1959. At various times he sat as a member of the Industri ...

in 1952–1953; the subsequent decision of the Public Service Board not to retain his services led to legal action on Rigby's part. He was elected to the

City of Rockdale The City of Rockdale was a local government area in southern and St George regions of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The city centre was located south of the Sydney central business district, on the western shores of Botan ...

council in 1953, serving until his election to parliament in 1959. Rigby was preselected as the Labor candidate for Hurstville at the 1959 state election, challenging the incumbent MLA, Clive Evatt, who had fallen out with the party and was contesting the election as an independent. Rigby easily won the seat, with Evatt finishing third behind the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate. Rigby was comfortably re-elected in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

, but was narrowly defeated by Liberal candidate

Tom Mead Thomas Francis Mead (4 May 1918 – 22 January 2004) was an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the seat of Hurstville for the Liberal Party. He was also a political journalist. Ea ...

in the 1965 state election, amidst Labor's heavy statewide defeat. Rigby remained involved in public life after his parliamentary defeat, serving as president of the

Miscellaneous Workers' Union The Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union (F.M.W.U.), commonly known as the 'Missos', was an Australian trade union which existed between 1915 and 1992. It represented an extremely diverse and disparate range of occupations, but its core support ...

from 1966 to 1973. He also served for a time as a special adviser to Senator

Doug McClelland Douglas McClelland (born 5 August 1926) is an Australian former politician who served as a Senator for New South Wales from 1962 to 1987, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He was Minister for the Media (1972–1975) and Special ...

, and was involved in a number of Aboriginal social welfare groups. He died in 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rigby, Bill 1923 births 2003 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers