Sir Harold Seddon (6 March 1881 – 25 February 1958) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council 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 1922 to 1954. He was President of the Legislative Council from 1946 to 1954.

Early life

Seddon was born in Openshaw,

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 Lancash ...

, England, to Elizabeth Ann (née Davy) and William Seddon. His nephew, Harold Wilson, served twice as

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...

. After studying electrical engineering at the Manchester Technical Institute, Seddon worked for a period in the electrical department of the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

. He emigrated to Australia in 1901, finding employment on the Eastern Goldfields as an electrical engineer with

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...

. Seddon became prominent in the Amalgamated Engineering Union, and also served on the Southern Cross Municipal Council.Harold Seddon
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2016.

Politics and later life

After the Labor Party split of 1916, Seddon joined the newly formed

National Labor Party The National Labor Party was formed by Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes in 1916, following the 1916 Labor split on the issue of World War I conscription in Australia. Hughes had taken over as leader of the Australian Labor Party and Pr ...

. He stood as the party's candidate in the seat of Kalgoorlie at the 1917 state election, but was defeated by the sitting member,

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 la ...

's Albert Green. From 1920 to 1922, Seddon served on the Kalgoorlie Municipal Council. He was elected to parliament in May 1922, winning election to the Legislative Council's North-East Province as a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

candidate. In November 1946, following the death of the President of the Legislative Council,

James Cornell James Cornell (23 December 1874 – 25 November 1946) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1912 until his death. He was elected President of the Legislative Council in July 19 ...

, Seddon was elected in his place. He was knighted for his service in June 1951. He served as president until the 1954 election, when he was defeated by Labor's

John Teahan John Denis Teahan (28 August 1900 – 21 October 1968) was an Australian politician who served as a Labor Party member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1954 to 1965, representing North-East Province. Teahan was born in B ...

(in one of a series of Labor victories). Seddon lived in Kalgoorlie in retirement, dying there in February 1958, aged 76. He had married Winifred Jean Dunstan in 1932, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seddon, Harold 1881 births 1958 deaths Australian Knights Bachelor Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Australian trade unionists English emigrants to Australia Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council National Labor Party politicians Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from Openshaw Presidents of the Western Australian Legislative Council Western Australian local councillors 20th-century Australian politicians Politicians from Manchester

Early life

Politics and later life

See also

References