John Estell (14 October 1861 – 18 October 1928) was a politician and coal miner in New South Wales, Australia. He was a member of the

New South Wales Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...

for years, including years in the Legislative Assembly. He was a minister in the

Holman Holman may refer to: People * Holman (surname), including people with the name * Holman (given name), a list of people with the name Places United States * Holman, Missouri, a former town * Holman, Texas, a settlement * Holman, Washington, a s ...

Storey A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US). T ...

and Dooley governments.

Early life

Estell was born in the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

coal mining town of

Minmi Michiko Evwana (born December 8, 1974), better known by her stage name , is a Japanese hip-hop and reggae musician,, United Daily News (in Chinese), August 22, 2008 as well as a singer-songwriter and record producer. She is the first soca ar ...

. He was the son of a coal-miner and was educated to elementary level at Rydal,

Wallerawang Wallerawang is a small township in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately northwest of Lithgow, New South Wales, Lithgow adjacent to the Great Western Highway. It is also located on the Main Western ra ...

and Bathurst public schools. His initial employment was as a steam engine driver at the Minmi Colliery in 1882. He was an office-holder in the Colliery Employees Federation from 1894. He was an elected alderman on the Plattsburg Municipal Council from 1888 till 1901, serving as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

in 1891, 1897 and 1899.

Political career

The Wallsend Protection and Labour League was formed in 1891 and Estell was the president of the league. He sought pre-selection to be the candidate for the Legislative Assembly seat of

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...

at the 1894 election, but was defeated by David Watkins. On 8 April 1899, during the premiership of

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid, (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales f ...

, Estell was appointed a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

, taking his seat on 11 April 1899. Watkins resigned in 1901 to successfully contest the first election for the federal

division of Newcastle The Division of Newcastle is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. Geography Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committe ...

, and Estell resigned from the Legislative Council to successfully contest the 1901 election for Wallsend. The result of the

1903 New South Wales referendum A referendum concerning the reduction of the members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was put to voters on 16 December 1903, in conjunction with the 1903 federal election. The referendum was conducted on the basis of optional preferen ...

was to reduce the number of members of the Legislative Assembly and Wallsend was abolished in the resulting redistribution, split between

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

and

Waratah Waratah (''Telopea'') is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania). The best-known species in this genus is ''Telopea speci ...

. Estell was pre-selected as the Labour candidate for Waratah, easily winning it at the 1904 election, retaining the seat in 1907 and 1910. Waratah was abolished in the 1912 redistribution and Wallsend re-created, which he easily won in 1913 and was unopposed in 1917. He was the Labor

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

from 1904 until April 1914 when he was appointed the Minister for Labour and Industry in the Holman Labor ministry, adding the portfolio of Minister for Mines from March 1915. He opposed conscription in World War I and during the Labor split over the issue, he remained loyal to the party, resigning from the ministry on 31 Oct 1916 due to a report that Holman would enter into a coalition with the Liberal Reform Party. Estell stated that he would not agree to direct association with his political opponents of a lifetime. In 1920 proportional representation was introduced for elections to the Legislative Assembly, with multi-member seats. Estell was elected third of the five members for the seat of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. During the Labor premierships of John Storey and James Dooley he was the Secretary for Public Works and Minister for Railways from April 1920 till April 1922 except for the 7 hours of the first Nationalist Government of George Fuller. Estell resigned from the Assembly on 13 February 1922 and was appointed to the Legislative Council the following day, taking his seat on 11 April 1899 and serving until his death. He did not hold any further parliamentary or ministerial office.

Personal life and death

Estell married Alleshia (Alicia) Jane Kirk on 10 September 1885 and they had 8 children, 3 daughters and 5 sons. He died at

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

on , survived by his wife Alicia, 3 daughters and 3 sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estell, John 1861 births 1928 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales