Joseph Thomas Davies (29 May 1880 – 16 July 1954) was an Australian trade unionist and politician who was a 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 1917 to 1924, representing the
seat of Guildford.
Early life
Davies was born in
Pontypridd
() ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.
Geography
comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...
, Wales, to Elizabeth Olivia (née Morgan) and Joseph Edward Davies. He began working in the coal mines of
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
as a boy, and then in 1899 emigrated to Australia. Davies settled in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, where he worked as a labourer (and later boilermaker) at the
Midland Railway Workshops
The Midland Railway Workshops in Midland, Western Australia, were the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years.
History
The first railway workshops in Western Australia were located at Fremantle a ...
. He was involved in various
railway trade unions, and in 1911 began working full-time as a union official. Davies also served on the
West Guildford Road Board from 1907.
[Joseph Thomas Davies](_blank)
Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
Politics
Davies left the
Labor Party in the aftermath of the
1916 split on conscription, joining the newly formed
National Labor Party
The National Labor Party was formed by Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes in 1916, following the 1916 Labor split on the issue of World War I conscription in Australia. Hughes had taken over as leader of the Australian Labor Party and Pr ...
.
He entered parliament at the
1917 state election, defeating
William Johnson (the sitting Labor member and a former party leader) in the
seat of Guildford. Davies was re-elected at the
1921 election, albeit with a reduced majority. However,
in 1924 William Johnson reclaimed the seat for the Labor Party.
Davies attempted to re-enter parliament at the
1924 and
1926 Legislative Council elections, standing as a
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
in
Metropolitan-Suburban Province
The Metropolitan-Suburban Province was a three-member electoral province of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in the metropolitan region of Perth. It was created by the ''Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899'', and became effect ...
, but was defeated on both occasions.
He made one final run for parliament at the
1948 Guildford-Midland by-election, standing as an independent, but polled just 0.9 percent of the vote.
Davies died in Perth in 1954, aged 74. He had married Mary Theresa Brown in 1903, with whom he had ten children.
See also
*
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Following are lists of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament s ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Joseph
1880 births
1954 deaths
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
National Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia
Nationalist Party (Australia) politicians
People from Pontypridd
Trade unionists from Western Australia
Welsh emigrants to colonial Australia
Western Australian local councillors