Herbert Graham Swan (23 August 1869 – 14 June 1949) was an Australian trade unionist and politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1908 to 1914, representing the seat of North Perth. Swan was born in

Dapto, New South Wales Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering an area 7.15 square kilometres in size. As at the , the suburb had a population of 10,730. History ...

(near

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

), to Elizabeth (née Graham) and William Henry Swan. He came to Western Australia in 1896 and found work as an engineer for

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...

, having previously worked in a similar position in New South Wales. He was a founder of a local railway trade union, the Amalgamated Railway Employees' Association, and served as its president from 1905 to 1908.Herbert Graham Swan
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 26 June 2016. Swan entered parliament at the 1908 state election, defeating

James Brebber James Brebber (14 October 1849 – 30 January 1936) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1905 to 1908, representing the seat of North Perth. Brebber was born in Strathdon, ...

. He was re-elected at the 1911 election, but at the 1914 election was defeated by

James MacCallum Smith James MacCallum Smith (26 April 1868 – 6 August 1939) was an Australian politician, newspaper proprietor and stock breeder. He lobbied unsuccessfully for many years for the secession of Western Australia from the Federation of Australia. Bio ...

, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

's candidate (and a well-known newspaper proprietor). Swan attempted to reclaim his seat from Smith at the 1921 election, but was unsuccessful. He died in Perth in June 1949, aged 79. He had married twice, to Mary Ann Cowless in 1897. He was married for a second time to Minnie Waugh in 1913 in Narrogin WA. Minnie and Herbert had three children, Jessie Eleanor, Sheila Bernadette, Raymond Herbert Graham Swan. Minnie died in Narrogin in 1919 from pneumonic influenza.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, Herbert 1869 births 1949 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Trade unionists from Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Wollongong Australian people in rail transport Colony of New South Wales people