Richard William Price (16 April 1869 – 22 June 1937) was an Australian journalist, politician, and army officer. He was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1909 to 1917, representing the seat of Albany.

Early life

Price was born in Chepstow,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, Wales, to Jane (née Croatt) and Henry George Price. He emigrated to Australia in 1885, initially living in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and then finding work in outback

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. By 1889, Price was working as an organiser for the General Labourers Union of West Queensland. He moved to Forbes, New South Wales, a few years later, and filled a similar role for the Amalgamated Shearers' Union of Australasia. Price came to Western Australia in 1896, during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

, and subsequently founded branches of the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

at Leonora and Mount Morgans.Richard William Price
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2017.

Journalism and politics

Price was working as a journalist by 1903, and the following year began working for the '' Kalgoorlie Sun''. He moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in 1905, and began writing for ''

Truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs ...

'', a local newspaper. Price entered parliament at the 1909 Albany by-election, caused by the resignation of Edward Barnett. He had initially been preselected as the Labor candidate for the Division of Swan at the 1910 federal election, but withdrew in order to run at the by-election."THE ALBANY ELECTION"
''Sunday Times'', 19 September 1909. Price was re-elected at the

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

and 1914 state elections, but did not recontest his seat in 1917 due to being on active duty overseas.

Military career and later life

In July 1915, while still a member of parliament, Price enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. He was initially posted to the 28th Battalion, but later transferred to the 47th Battalion. Price was gassed at the

Battle of Pozières The Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September 1916) took place in northern France around the village of Pozières, during the Battle of the Somme. The costly fighting ended with the British in possession of the plateau north and east of the v ...

in 1916, and invalided to England. He spent the rest of the war as a training officer and camp commandant, and was then involved in demobilisation, not being formally discharged until September 1920. Price began working as a journalist after leaving the military, initially working out of London for the

Empire Parliamentary Association The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights. In 1989 the patron of the CPA was the Head of ...

and later living in

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distri ...

, Wales. He returned to Western Australia in 1930, and died in Perth in 1937, aged 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, William 1869 births 1937 deaths Australian Army officers Australian journalists Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian military personnel of World War I Trade unionists from Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Chepstow Welsh emigrants to colonial Australia