Charles Richard Howroyd (25 February 1867 – 10 May 1917) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

from 1909 until 1917, representing 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 ...

until leaving the party in the 1916 Labor split. He was then elected to the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

at the 1917 federal election, but died only five days later. Howroyd was born in

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

and Turton College in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. He initially migrated to

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 ...

before going into business as a stock and share broker in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. He lived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for some years before returning 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 ...

and then Launceston, where he lived from 1898 and worked as a commission agent. He was secretary of the Launceston Stock Exchange, founder of the St George's Society in Launceston, a member of the Launceston Hospital board and a justice of the peace. A trade unionist, he was also general secretary of the Railway Employees' Association in Tasmania for five years. He was the secretary of the Federal Protection League from 1900, but was one of the founding members of the Tasmanian branch of the Labor Party when it was established in 1903. He was elected to the

in 1906 for North Launceston, transferring to the new multi-member seat of

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

in 1909, and topping the poll there in his re-election in 1912. He successfully introduced or was heavily involved in the passage of legislation to introduce workers' compensation legislation in Tasmania, restrict shop opening hours, establish an eight-hour day for train drivers, protect deserted wives and establish hydroelectric works in the state. He did not achieve ministerial rank, but was secretary of the parliamentary party at the time of the 1916 split. He also served as a parliamentary member of the state executive and as president of the Launceston Workers' Political League. On 1 November 1916, he was expelled from the Labor caucus during the 1916 Labor split as a result of his support for

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He formally resigned his party membership on 9 January 1917. Having been involved in forming the first National Federation branch in Tasmania, he resigned his state seat on 21 March 1917 to contest the 1917 federal election for the new

Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party, also known as the National Party, was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the latter formed by Prime Mini ...

. He won the seat, defeating long-serving Labor member

King O'Malley King O'Malley (2 July 1858? – 20 December 1953) was an American-born Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1901 to 1917, and served two terms as Minister for Home Affairs (1910–1913; 1915–16). He is remember ...

, but died suddenly at his home at

Inveresk Inveresk (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a Conservation area (United Kingdom), conservation area since 1969. It is situated on s ...

five days after polling day, making him the shortest-serving member of the

in history. His health, never robust, was reported to have suffered badly during the strenuous campaign. He was buried at Carr Villa Memorial Park. The

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held to replace him was won by fellow Labor defector

William Spence William Guthrie Spence (7 August 1846 – 13 December 1926), was an Australian trade union leader and politician, played a leading role in the formation of both Australia's largest union, the Australian Workers' Union, and the Australian Labor ...

, who had been defeated in an attempt to retain the

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 ...

Labor seat of Darling for the Nationalists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howroyd, Charles Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Darwin Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly 1867 births 1917 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Tasmania 20th-century Australian politicians