Percy Edmund Creed Coleman (23 October 1892 – 25 May 1934) was an Australian union organiser and politician. Born at Surry Hills 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 ...

to Thomas Coleman and Ellen, née Creed, Coleman was orphaned when still a young child and, after a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

education, went to sea at the age of 13. After three years, he was a clerk with the Sydney branch of the

Federated Seamen's Union of Australasia The Seamen's Union of Australia (SUA) was the principal trade union for merchant seamen in Australia from 1876 to 1991. The SUA developed a reputation as one of the most militant trade unions in Australia and was closely associated with the ...

, and by 1916 he was general secretary of the United Clerks' Union of New South Wales.

Military service

Despite his opposition to

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 antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

, Coleman enrolled with the Australian Imperial Force in February 1918 and served with the Army Service Corps in

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and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Having been promoted to temporary sergeant by 1919, he became attached to Australia House as a lecturer. He was discharged from the armed forces in April 1920.

Politics

Coleman toured the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

as a lecturer in 1920, and returned as secretary of the renamed Australian Clerical Association, a post he retained until 1922. He was also a founder and secretary of the Australian Alliance of Professional, Clerical and Government Employees' Associations. Coleman's standing in the union movement led him to be selected as the Labor candidate for the new seat of

Reid Reid is a surname of Scottish origin. It means "red". People with the surname * Alan Reid (disambiguation) * Alex Reid (disambiguation), includes Alexander Reid * Amanda Reid, Australian Paralympic athlete * Amanda Reid (taxonomist), Australia ...

in 1922, an endeavour in which he was successful. He became known as a strong supporter of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. Despite some negative publicity, during which he was called before a royal commission to testify with regard to apparent bribes made to some Labor members, Coleman easily held his seat in 1925 and 1929. Although he did not rise to become a minister in James Scullin's government, Coleman was appointed as the Australian representative at the

International Labour Conference The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...

and the League of Nations Mandates Commission meeting in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, as well as the British Commonwealth Labour Conference in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He was again embroiled in controversy when he was accused of accepting a £500 bribe during an enquiry into the broadcasting stations, but was cleared of all charges. In 1931, Coleman, who had remained loyal to Scullin's Labor, was defeated in his seat by the Lang Labor candidate, Joe Gander, and became a strong opponent of Jack Lang's "dictatorship" in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Although he attempted to re-enter parliament via a by-election for the seat of East Sydney in 1932, he was forced to withdraw due to sickness, and was also narrowly unsuccessful in his bid to enter the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

by contesting Lang's own seat of

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. Admitted to the bar in 1933, he became president of the New South Wales (Federal) branch of the Australian Labor Party, but died unexpectedly on 25 May 1934 while in a car at

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

. It was later determined that the cause was

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

. Coleman had married Elsie Allen Victoria Prince on 17 December 1921 in Sydney; he was survived by her and their daughter.

Military service

Politics

References

Further reading