Lawrence Borthwick Kelly (29 April 1883 – 5 May 1955) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1947 until his death. He was a member of the Labor Party (ALP). Kelly was born in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

, Scotland and was educated to elementary level. He worked from the age of 12 as a coal-miner. In 1911 he arrived in Australia and after initially working as a miner 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 ...

, found employment with the New South Wales Government Railways. He joined the Labor party and became an official with the

Australian Railways Union The Australian Railways Union (ARU) was an Australian trade union in existence from 1920 to 1993. The ARU was an industrial union, representing all types of workers employed in the rail industry, excluding locomotive enginedrivers and tradesme ...

. Kelly was a councillor on the Bulli Shire Council in 1927-32 and 1935–47. He was the shire president in 1929-31 and 1945–47. Kelly was elected to the New South Wales Parliament as the Labor member for the seat of Bulli at the

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

state election after the sitting Labor member John Sweeney retired. He retained the seat for the Labor Party until 1955 when he died in office. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office. His son also, Laurie Kelly was the Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in the 1980s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Laurie, Sr. 1883 births 1955 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Mayors of places in New South Wales Scottish emigrants to Australia