Harold Boland (21 October 1891 – 25 July 1956) was an Australian shearer and trade unionist. Boland was born near

Grenfell, New South Wales Grenfell is a town in Weddin Shire in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of Sydney. It is close to Forbes, Cowra and Young. At the 2011 census, Grenfell had a population of 1,996. The town is served daily by conne ...

to farmer Thomas Charles Edmund Boland and Elizabeth, ''née'' Tout. He did not attend school but worked in the

Bogan River Bogan River, a perennial river that is part of the Macquarie– Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the central west and Orana regions of New South Wales, Australia. From its origin near Parkes, the Bogan River ...

district as a shearer, wool-presser, sawmiller, tree-feller, fencer and miner. In 1905 he joined the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

(AWU), and was later employed as a clerk 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 married Amy Forrest, a dressmaker, at the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Waterloo on 13 April 1914. An organiser for the AWU from 1920, he moved to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in search of work in 1923. In 1924 Boland was the AWU's Western District organiser, holding various positions until becoming Far Northern District secretary in 1941. He was elected Queensland president of the AWU in 1947 and Queensland president of 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 ...

in 1950, joining the federal executive. Boland, who also chaired the union's newspaper the ''Worker'', was one of six Queensland delegates to the 1955 ALP federal conference 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 ...

, where he was left to represent his state alone after the other five delegates, who included Premier

Vince Gair Vincent Clair Gair (25 February 190111 November 1980) was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of Queensland from 1952 until 1957, when his stormy relations with the trade union movement saw him expelled from the Labor Party. He was e ...

and state treasurer

Ted Walsh Ted Walsh (born 14 April 1950) is an Irish amateur jockey turned racehorse trainer who was born and raised in Co. Cork but based in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland. Ted is also father to amateur Irish National Hunt jockey, Katie Walsh and profes ...

, boycotted the conference over a dispute concerning the Victorian delegation. Boland was an opponent of the

Industrial Groups The Industrial Groups were groups formed by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the late 1940s, to replace Communist Party influence in the trade unions with groups controlled by B. A. Santamaria's "Movement" which had infiltrated the ALP in 1944 ...

and supported the conference's resolution to withdraw party support from them. The anti-Grouper attack in Queensland was led by AWU president

Joe Bukowski Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * Joe (1970 film), ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * Joe (2013 film), ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * Joe (TV series), ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from ...

, allowing Boland to retain friendly relations with Gair and the others. He worked unsuccessfully to avoid the deepening divisions that in 1957 led to the formation of the

Queensland Labor Party The Queensland Labor Party (QLP) was a political party of Queensland, Australia formed in 1957 by a breakaway group of the then ruling Labor Party Government after the expulsion of Premier Vince Gair. In 1962 the party became the Queensland se ...

. Boland, however, did not live to see his party divide, dying in 1956 at

Tingalpa Tingalpa is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Tingalpa had a population of 8,290 people. Geography The suburb has some older style homes built in the post war period – weatherboard and chamferboard post war c ...

of a

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion is the partial or complete obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition may cause a heart attack. In some patients coronary occlusion causes only mild pain, tightness or vague discomfort which may be ignored ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boland, Harry 1891 births 1956 deaths Australian trade union leaders