Joseph Farrar Coates (21 September 1878 – 4 May 1943) was an Australian politician. He was born in Bathurst to commercial agent James Farrar Coates and Honorah Mahony. He was educated at St Aloysius' College 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 ...

and became a commercial traveller; he also owned property at Bathurst. On 17 March 1899 he married Mary Teresa Hinchy, with whom he had four children. In 1902 he was a foundation member of the Shop Assistants Union, and in 1910 he ran unsuccessfully as the Labor Party candidate for the state seat of Bathurst. In 1921 he was appointed to 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 ...

. He was a minister without portfolio from 1925 to 1927 and led the Labor Party in the Council from 1927, but was an opponent of Jack Lang and led the Federal Labor group in the Council from 1931 to 1932. He returned to the main Labor fold later in the 1930s, and remained in the Council until his death at Haberfield in 1943.

References

1878 births 1943 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council {{Australia-Labor-NewSouthWales-MP-stub