Maurice McCrae Blackburn (19 November 1880 – 31 March 1944)
[ was an Australian politician and ]socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
lawyer, noted for his protection of the interests of workers and the establishment of the legal firm known as Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.
Biography
Blackburn was born in Inglewood Inglewood may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Inglewood, Queensland
* Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area
*Inglewood, South Australia
*Inglewood, Victoria
*Inglewood, Western Australia
Canada
* Inglewood, Ontario
*Inglewoo ...
, 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 Maurice Blackburn, a bank manager, and his wife Thomasann Cole (née McCrae), daughter of Captain Alexander McCrae.
Following the death of his father in 1887, Blackburn and his mother moved to Melbourne where he was educated at Melbourne Grammar School
(Pray and Work)
, established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation)
, type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding
, denomination ...
, matriculating in 1896. He attended the University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...
, graduating in arts and law in 1909, and began to practise as a lawyer a year later. In the same year, he also became a member of the Victorian Socialist Party
The Victorian Socialist Party (VSP) was a socialist political party in the Australian state of Victoria during the early 20th century.
Most VSP members were also members of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), or later became members. A faction ...
and was soon editing its newspaper, ''The Socialist''. Later, in about 1908, he joined the Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
.[
Blackburn married Doris Amelia Hordern on 10 December 1914.] Two weeks earlier he had entered the Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne.
The presidin ...
as the Labor member for the Electoral district of Essendon
The electoral district of Essendon is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It was first created in 1904 after the abolition of the larger Essendon and Flemington electorate, and covers some of the north-western suburbs o ...
, but lost his seat in 1917, due largely to his strong anti-war and anti-conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...
stances. He returned to practising law, establishing the firm Maurice Blackburn & Co. in 1919, dealing primarily in trade union law and civil liberties cases.
During his time practising law, Blackburn won cases that played a key role in establishing rights most Australians now take for granted, including the 40-hour working week, wage equality for indigenous workers, and equal pay for women.
Blackburn made his mark on Australian politics in 1921 when he led a successful move to have the socialisation of the means of production added to Labor's official platform (which became known as the "socialist objective"). Returning to state Parliament as the member for Fitzroy in a 1925 by-election, Blackburn introduced legislation aimed at removing discrimination against women, and opposed what he saw as repressive economic measures proposed during the depression. In 1933, he was elected Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria. The presiding officer of the upper house of the Parliament of Victoria, the Victorian ...
, but resigned from the Assembly in 1934, so he could contest the Federal seat of Bourke, based on the suburbs of Brunswick and Coburg
Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...
in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
. Although he won Bourke and held it until 1943, his relationship with the Labor Party was chequered.
In late 1934 and early 1935, Blackburn acted as legal counsel to prevent the deportation of the noted Czech anti-Fascist Egon Kisch.[
In October 1935, he voted in favour of sanctions against Italy over the ]Abyssinian crisis
The Abyssinia Crisis (; ) was an international crisis in 1935 that originated in what was called the Walwal incident during the ongoing conflict between the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Ethiopia (then commonly known as "Abyssinia"). The ...
, defying his leader John Curtin
John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...
.[
Blackburn's support for international socialism, and his opposition to conscription, frequently caused him to take positions opposed to Labor policy and, in October 1935, he was expelled over his membership of the Movement Against War and Fascism.][ He was soon re-admitted to the ALP, but expelled again in 1941 for his support of the Australia-Soviet Friendship League.][ His expulsion was seen as a warning to other left-wing MPs that violation of party policy was not to be tolerated. Blackburn continued to serve as the member for Bourke as an ]independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
, voting against the Labor government's conscription bill, but he lost his seat at the 1943 election to the official Labor candidate.[
Blackburn died of cerebral tumour on 31 March 1944,] in Prahran, Victoria
Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a p ...
, and was buried in Box Hill Cemetery
Box Hill Cemetery is a cemetery located in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Box Hill, Victoria in Australia. It currently occupies 12.5 ha (31 acres). It is known as the resting place of notable figures from Melbourne and its heritage-registered Co ...
, survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, and his mother. His estate, which included a fine library, was sworn for probate at £2,552.[ In a eulogy, Australian Prime Minister ]John Curtin
John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...
referred to Blackburn as "one of the great servants of the people of the Commonwealth of Australia". His widow, Doris, won Bourke as an Independent Labour candidate at the 1946 election and spent much of her time in Parliament promoting similar policies to those that Blackburn had supported.[
]
References
External links
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers history of Maurice Blackburn
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, Maurice
1880 births
1944 deaths
Australian Anglicans
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
Australian socialists
Independent members of the Parliament of Australia
Spouses of Australian politicians
20th-century Australian lawyers
Victoria (Australia) state politicians
Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bourke
Speakers of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Melbourne Law School alumni
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria
Burials at Box Hill Cemetery
People from Inglewood, Victoria
20th-century Australian politicians