Frederick Bromley
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Frederick Hadkinson Bromley (30 November 1854 – 29 September 1908) was an English-born Australian trade unionist and early Labour leader in
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 ...
.


Early life

Bromley was born in 1854 in
Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...
, England. He trained as an artist at the School of Design in
South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
, and became an artist specialising in
japanning Japanning is a type of finish that originated as a European imitation of East Asian lacquerwork. It was first used on furniture, but was later much used on small items in metal. The word originated in the 17th century. American work, with the ...
, a European imitation of Asian
lacquerwork Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Befor ...
.


Artistic career and trade union activity

In 1879, Bromley migrated to Victoria, where he lived in Carlton and worked as a japanner for the tin-making firm of Hughes & Harvey. In the early 1880s, Bromley became active with the trade union movement, co-founding the Melbourne Tinsmiths, Iron-workers and Japanners' Society and serving as its first secretary. Hughes & Harvey refused to accept the industry's
eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the ...
reforms and dismissed Bromley for his advocacy, whereupon he became a freelance decorative artist and union organiser—combining his occupations by painting trade union banners. In May 1883, Bromley joined the
Victorian Trades Hall Council The Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) is a representative body of trade union organisations, known as a labour council, in the state of Victoria, Australia. It comprises 43 affiliated trade unions and professional associations, and eight reg ...
, representing the tinsmiths' union. He was elected vice-president of the council in 1884, and president in March 1885.


Political career

In March 1886, Bromley contested the
electoral district of Collingwood Collingwood was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria from 1856 to 1958. It centred on the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, Victoria Collingwood is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victo ...
, but was unsuccessful. He joined the Progressive Political League, and was elected vice-president in December 1891. At the 1892 election, the PPL nominated Bromley as its candidate for Carlton, and he was duly elected in April 1892. He became the first secretary of the party, which had gone through several iterations and emerged as the United Labour Party in May 1896. Bromley served as the party's first secretary until he was elected party leader on 3 December 1900 after
William Trenwith William Arthur Trenwith (15 July 1846 – 26 July 1925) was a pioneer trade union official and labour movement politician for Victoria, Australia. Early life Born to convict parents at Launceston, Tasmania, he followed his father's trade as ...
resigned as Labour leader to take up an appointment as Commissioner of Public Works and Minister of Railways in George Turner's Cabinet. In 1893, Bromley sued Maurice Brodzky, the proprietor and publisher of the weekly newspaper '' Table Talk'', for libel after Brodzky compared the "feline portion of the Labour party" to the thievish disposition of a cat towards fish—a metaphor which Bromley took as a reference to his support of
George Sangster George Sangster is a Dutch ornithologist. He specialises in taxonomy and has written many articles on this subject for the magazines Dutch Birding ''Dutch Birding'', originally subtitled ''Journal of the Dutch Birding Association'', and curren ...
over the latter's unauthorised use of union funds. The jury found in Bromley's favour and awarded him £500 damages, leading to the collapse of a respected newspaper and Brodzky leaving for America. Bromley led Labour at the 1904 Victorian state election on 1 June 1904, but resigned as leader six days after the election due to ill health, and
George Prendergast George Michael "Mick" Prendergast (20 May 1854 – 28 August 1937) was an Australian politician who served as the 28th Premier of Victoria. He was born to Irish emigrant parents in Adelaide, but he grew up in Stawell, Victoria. He was apprent ...
replaced him. He died in office on 29 September 1908, at the age of 53.


References

  {{DEFAULTSORT:Bromley, Frederick 1854 births 1908 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Trade unionists from Melbourne 19th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians Alumni of the Royal College of Art British emigrants to the Colony of Victoria Politicians from Wolverhampton