James Crawford (4 March 1870 – 28 December 1916) was a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

Biography

Crawford was born in

Woonona Woonona () is a northern suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney. It is served by Woonona Station on the South Coast (Illawarra) Line, and by the Princes Highway. The suburb has a strip of commerce along the highway ...

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 ...

, to parents James Crawford and his wife Ellen (née Simpson) and attended school while still in Woonona. He was a coalminer in

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 ...

in 1883 and by 1888 he was in

Narrandera Narrandera ( ) until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell and Sturt highways, adjacent to the Murrumbidgee River, and ...

working for the railways. He became a barrister and solicitor working out of Clermont. When working in the mines he became involved in the

labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

, becoming vice-president of the Australian Workers' Association in

Cobar Cobar is a town in central western New South Wales, Australia whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier H ...

, New South Wales, and secretary of the Fitzroy Miners' Union. He was a member of the Royal Commission into the Mount Morgan disaster in 1908. In 1905 he married Myra Clarke but it is not recorded if they had any children. He drowned in the catastrophic floods that hit Clermont in December 1916.Clermont and Copperfield
— Queensland Places. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

Political career

Crawford represented the state seat of

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

from 1909 until 1912. He then represented the new seat of Mount Morgan in 1912 but was defeated by James Stopford in 1915. He started out representing the Labour Party but by the end of his political career he was a member of the Ministerialists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, James Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1870 births 1916 deaths Deaths in floods Natural disaster deaths in Australia Accidental deaths in Queensland