William Edward Dickson (26 April 1893 – 22 May 1966) was an English-born Australian politician.
Early life
Dickson was born at
Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...
in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
to alkali labourer Edward Dickson and Bertha Stancliffe. He migrated to Australia in 1913 and worked as an accountant for a mine in
Broken Hill
Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
. He lost his job after opposing conscription during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and worked as a labourer and then as manager of the ''Barrier Daily Truth''. On 22 October 1922 he married Alice Celia Cogan, with whom he had five children.
Political career
He then 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 ...
, and from 1925 to 1934 was a
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 of the
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...
. Involved in
Bob Heffron
Robert James Heffron (10 September 189027 July 1978), also known as Bob Heffron or R. J. Heffron, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, union organiser and Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), Labor Party Premier of New So ...
's
Industrial Labor Party
The Industrial Labor Party or Heffron Labor Party was a short-lived but influential political party active in New South Wales between 1936 and 1939. It was a splinter group of the Labor Party (ALP) and was formed by Bob Heffron after he and Car ...
, he soon returned to the ALP and was general secretary from 1940 to 1941 and campaign director from 1940 to 1952. He returned to the Legislative Council in 1940, where he would remain until his death. He was an assistant minister from 1941 to 1948, and from 1948 to 1952 was Minister for Building Materials, with his title changed to include additional responsibilities as Minister for Secondary Industries from 1950. In 1949 he was appointed
Secretary for Mines
The position of Secretary for Mines is a now defunct office in the United Kingdom Government, associated with the Board of Trade.
In 1929, the department took over responsibility for petroleum.
In 1940, the department was divided with Geoffrey ...
in addition to his previous portfolios. He resigned from the ministry in 1952 when he was elected President of the Legislative Council. He retained the presidency until his death at