William Roy Clifford Bagnall (10 April 1882 – 28 May 1950) was a New Zealand-born Australian politician.
He was born at
Turua
Turua is a small village community on the banks of the Waihou River in the Hauraki Plains in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the mouth of the river, 9 kilometres south of the Firth of Thames and 12 km south of Thame ...
to sawmill owner Albert Edward Bagnall and Emma, ''née'' Brent. He moved to
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 ...
in 1903, where he immediately became involved in the union movement, being the first secretary and a foundation delegate of the
Labor Council of New South Wales
The Labor Council of New South Wales, branded Unions NSW, is the peak body for trade unions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. As of 2005 there are 67 unions and 8 Rural and Regional Trades & Labor Councils affiliated to the Labor Coun ...
, representing the Process Engravers' Union (Printing Trades Federation Council from 1909). Around 1907 he married Ruby Fitzgerald at
Enmore, with whom he had five children. He worked as a process engraver during this period. In 1913 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
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
member for
St George
Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...
. In the 1917 split Bagnall, a supporter of
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 ...
, joined the
Nationalist Party. He continued to represent St George with the introduction of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
in 1920, but he was defeated in 1925; five months later he returned to the Assembly to fill the vacancy caused by
Thomas Ley
Thomas John Ley (28 October 188024 July 1947) was an Australian politician who was convicted of murder in England. He is widely suspected to have been involved in the deaths of a number of people in Australia, including political rivals.
Early ...
's resignation. He left the Assembly in 1927 and managed
Hoyts
The Hoyts Group of companies in Australia and New Zealand includes Hoyts Cinemas and Val Morgan. Hoyts operates more than 450 cinema screens and 55,000 seats, making it Australia's second largest movie exhibitor after Event Hospita ...
theatre from 1927 to 1944. Bagnall died at
Mosman
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...
in 1950.
References
1882 births
1950 deaths
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales
Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Politicians from Sydney
20th-century Australian politicians
New Zealand emigrants to Australia
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