John Louis Treflé (4 December 1865 – 11 January 1915) was a farmer, newspaper proprietor and politician in New South Wales, Australia.

Early life

He was born at Penshurst near

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 ...

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 ...

to French Canadian farmer John Trefflée Hétu, known as John Treflé in Australia and Mary McKenzie. He attended a convent school at Hamilton. The family moved to

Temora, New South Wales Temora () is a town in the north-east of the Riverina area of New South Wales, south-west of the state capital, Sydney. At the the population of Temora was 4,693. Temora has been reported as being the friendliest town in New South Wales, foll ...

around 1876, and Treflé was a boarder at

St Patrick's College, Goulburn (If you do something, do it well) , status = Closed , established = , closed = 2000 (merged into Trinity Catholic College, Goulburn) , city = Goulburn , state = New South Wales , country = Australia , campus = , coor ...

. On leaving school he worked on his father's farm at Temora, before branching out into newspapers, becoming owner and managing editor of the '' Temora Independent''.

Political career

Treflé was active in the Cootamundra land boards and the

Farmers' and Settlers' Association of New South Wales The Farmers' and Settlers' Association of New South Wales was an umbrella organisation of farmers' and selectors' associations in New South Wales, founded in 1893. History The Association was formed in 1893 as the outcome of a conference held in C ...

, serving as secretary of the association from 1893 until 1898 and as vice-president from 1902 to 1940 and 1905 to 1906. He was a friend of member

William Holman William Arthur Holman (4 August 1871 – 5 June 1934) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1913 to 1920. He came to office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), Labor Party, ...

whose seat of Grenfell included Temora and his mother and brother joined Labour in the 1890s. Treflé attempted unsuccessfully to forge links between the Farmers and Settlers Association and Labour, particularly in relation to agricultural policy and plans for a national bank. In 1904 he was a candidate at the election for The Upper Hunter, with the support of the Farmers' and Settlers' Association, but was unsuccessful with a margin of 955 votes (21.0%). In 1906 he joined Labour and was their candidate for Castlereagh at the by-election for The Castlereagh in 1906, winning with a margin of 328 votes (1.1%) and holding the seat at the elections in 1907, 1910 and 1913. When Labour won the 1910 election, he was appointed an honorary minister without a portfolio in the

McGowen ministry The McGowen ministry was the 34th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 18th Premier of New South Wales, Premier, James McGowen. This ministry marks the first Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), Labor min ...

until 1911, when he was appointed

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

following the death of Donald Macdonell.

George Beeby Sir George Stephenson Beeby KBE (23 May 1869 – 18 July 1942) was an Australian politician, judge and author. He was one of the founders of the Labor Party in New South Wales, and represented the party in state parliament from 1907 to 1912. ...

, the Secretary for Lands, resigned from the ministry, parliament and party in protest at the power of the extra-parliamentary Labor Party executive in December 1912 and Treflé took on the additional portfolio of Lands. He retained both portfolios in the

first Holman ministry First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, before dropping the agriculture portfolio in 1914.

Personal life

Treflé married Kathleen Shelly on 23 April 1902 in Manly. Treflé died 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 ...

on , survived by his wife Kathleen, their daughter, also named Kathleen (aged 12) and son Liola (aged 9).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trefle, John 1865 births 1915 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Australian people of French-Canadian descent People educated at St Patrick's College, Goulburn