Samuel "Sam" Smith (1857 – 22 January 1916) was an Australian union official and politician. Smith's early life is unclear in that his parliamentary biography states he was born on 17 February 1857 in

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, to Samuel Smith and Marion Hunter, while the City of Sydney Archives states that he was born on 29 January 1857 in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, to Elizabeth Hunter and David Smith, shoemaker. He attended school at

Kilwinning Kilwinning (, sco, Kilwinnin; gd, Cill D’Fhinnein) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is on the River Garnock, north of Irvine, about southwest of Glasgow. It is known as "The Crossroads of Ayrshire". Kilwinning was also a Civil Pa ...

and became a colliery lad at the age of eleven, becoming active in the

Railway and Seaman's Union. In 1882 he arrived 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 helped found the local Seamen's Union, of which he was assistant secretary in 1890 and secretary from 1891 to 1902. He was a member of the Loyal United Brothers lodge of the

Grand United Order of Odd Fellows The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, American Jurisdiction is a jurisdiction of the Grand United Order of Oddfellows in the United States, Jamaica, Canada, South America, and other locations. Since its founding in 1843, its membership has prin ...

. He was elected to 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 ...

as the member for Sydney-Pyrmont and the 1898 election and was re-elected at the 1901 election, serving until his resignation in 1902. He was a Sydney City Councillor from 1900 to 1902. In March 1902 Smith was appointed to the

Court of Arbitration A Court of Arbitration is a court, sometimes outside of the official judicial system of a country, that resolves certain kinds of civil disputes, primarily between industrial or commercial entities, or between employers and employees. The Court o ...

on the recommendation of the Industrial Unions of Employees. He was re-elected for a further term in April 1905, however a temporary replacement was appointed in September, and in around November 1905 he was committed to the Hospital for the Insane at Callan Park. Smith died at

Lilyfield Lilyfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lilyfield is located 6 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Inner West Council. Lilyfield is ...

on .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sam 1857 births 1916 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Scottish emigrants to Australia People from Ayrshire Sydney City Councillors Politicians from Sydney Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales