Robert Alexander Dale (19 August 1875 – 22 February 1953) was an Australian politician who represented the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the South Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament House in the st ...

seat of Sturt from 1930 to 1933 and

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

from 1933 to 1938 and 1944 to 1947 for the Labor Party. He worked from a very early age as a sheep shearer at "Andamoka" and "practically every station in the State", when he was known as one of the best blade shearers and a member of the Shearers' Union (later AWU). He later worked underground in the Broken Hill mines, then at the smelters. When the smelters moved to

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South A ...

in 1898 he settled in that city. He married in 1902, and their six children attended Solomontown school. He was a dedicated unionist, and a member of the Amalgamated Mining Union organised by

Tom Mann Thomas Mann (15 April 1856 – 13 March 1941), was an English trade unionist and is widely recognised as a leading, pioneering figure for the early labour movement in Britain. Largely self-educated, Mann became a successful organiser and a ...

. The union went on strike in 1909 after management at the smelters reduced their pay from 8/3d per day to 7/3d, and was not called off until six months later, when Mr. Justice Higgins ordered a return to work at 8/3d. Dale had kept his family fed and clothed by trapping rabbits.

Personal

Known as "Curley" Dale, Bob married Alice Ada Maud Harris (died 1963) in 1902 and had six children: *William Thomas "Will" Dale (1902– ) *Freda Gladys Evelyn Dale (1904– ) *Vera May Dale (1905– ) *Lily Lavina Dale (1908– ) *Muriel Olive Linda Dale (1909– ) *Doris Maretta Dale (1910– ) All married and lived in Adelaide

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dale, Bob 1875 births 1953 deaths Australian trade unionists Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly