William Francis Schey (1857–1913) was an Australian politician.

Early life

Schey was born in England and educated in London. After a short time in New Zealand, Schey 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 ...

as first mate of a ship in 1875. After tiring of work on the seas, Schey worked as a chainman for the Harbours Department then joined the railways, after becoming the first paid secretary of the Railways and Tramways Association.

Political career

Schey entered the New South Wales Parliament in 1887, serving until his electoral defeat in 1898. Schey initially served as one of four members for the Electoral district of Redfern in 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 ...

. He was not a strong supporter of free trade and had disagreements with the leader Sir Henry Parkes. For the February 1889 election he switched to be a , however he was defeated, finishing last on the poll. He was returned to the Legislative Assembly 5 months later, narrowly winning the Redfern by election in July. He had such strong connections with railway employees and the Eveleigh Railway Yards he was dubbed the member for Eveleigh. He was re-elected to Redfern in 1891. Multi-member districts were abolished in 1894, and Schey stood as an candidate for the new district of Darlington, which included the Eveleigh Railway Yards. He returned to the Protectionist party, winning the election in 1895, however he was defeated in 1898. He did not hold ministerial or other office. Schey twice carried the "eight hour" bill through the Legislative Assembly only to see it defeated in the Legislative Council.

Later life

In 1900 Schey was elected Chairman of the Royal Commission to Labor Matters. In 1905 Schey was appointed Director of Labor, a position he held until his death in 1913. In 1895 Schey was concerned at the social toll of the 1890s depression. Schey was an engine behind the 1896 creation of a Government funded co-operative farm, established to assist men and their families who were victims of sickness and unemployment. Schey took so much interest in the co-operative training farm that the area became favourably known as

Scheyville Scheyville () is a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Scheyville is located northwest of the Sydney central business district in the Hawkesbury local government area. Military history From 1965 to 1973, Scheyville was the site of Officer Train ...

from 1907 onwards. He died at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

on .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schey, William 1857 births 1913 deaths Protectionist Party politicians Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly British emigrants to Australia Politicians from Sydney