Ernest Leopold William Klauer (1870 – 6 August 1915) was an engineer, trade unionist and politician in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

History

Ernest Klauer was born in Adelaide in 1870; his father, (Friedrich Wilhelm) August Klauer, born in

Aschersleben Aschersleben () is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km east of Quedlinburg, and 45 km northwest of Halle (Saale). Geography Aschersleben lies near the confluence of the r ...

, Germany and

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

as a British subject in South Australia in 1874, was the proprietor of the White Hart Hotel in

Hindley Street Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street and West Terrace. The street was named after Charles Hindley, a British parliamentarian and soc ...

. Ernest was educated at the Grote Street Public School, then at an early age served an apprenticeship as

fitter and turner A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

at the

Islington Railway Workshops The Islington Railway Workshops are railway workshops in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. They were the chief railway workshops of the South Australian Railways, and are still in operation today.South Australian Railways South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...

, and remained in the Government service for more than 22 years. At an early age he took an active interest in the trade union movement, and became a prominent member of the Railway Association. In 1897 he was elected chairman of their Adelaide branch, and was instrumental in the formation of the Chemical Fertilisers Union, and became their president in 1911. He helped form the

Australasian Society of Engineers The Australasian Society of Engineers (ASE) was an Australian trade union active from 1890 to 1991. It was eventually incorporated into the Australian Workers' Union (AWU). History In 1890, the Australasian Society of Engineers was established a ...

in South Australia, and from a very small base built it up into a strong and vibrant organisation, and was elected its president in 1909. Two years later he took over the secretarial work, and held that office until ill-health forced him to retire. He was elected president of their Federal body in 1913. In 1912 he was elected president of the Musicians' Union, which also advanced strongly under his guidance. He was also a prominent worker for the Labor Party, and was its vice-president in 1909 and 1910, carrying out his duties with conspicuous ability. At the following annual State Labor Conference he was elected president by a large majority. In the following year he won a Central district seat on the Legislative Council for the Labor Party, and was returned to that in January 1912. Klauer had a great knowledge of factors affecting the liquor trade, and he took up the cudgels on its behalf. He was a member of the Wharfs Commission, and also of the Break-of-gauge Commission. He was a member of the Electoral Commission, and though seriously indisposed, he attended the early meetings and was anxious to perform his duties as a member of that committee, but was beaten by the illness that killed him. He was a forceful and convincing speaker, and was well respected by members on both sides of Parliament.

Other interests

He was involved in municipal affairs, and for four years served as councillor and two years as alderman for the Thebarton Council. He was a strong oarsman, and a member of the champion "four" of the Commercial Rowing Club for two years, and in the champion "eight" of that club for a similar period. He was powerful swimmer, particularly in

breast stroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

Family

He married Christabelle Keys, lived at "Reualk", Clifford Street,

Torrensville Torrensville is a western suburb west of the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It was named after Irish-born economist and chairman of the South Australian Colonisation Commission, Robert Torrens. Torrensville is in the City of West Tor ...

. They had one child, Lyle Stanley Durrant "Stan" Klauer (born ca. January 1896), who was killed in action in France on 4 September 1918.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klauer, Ernest Leopold William Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Australian engineers Australian trade unionists 1870 births 1915 deaths