Donald Macdonell (Australian politician)
Donald Macdonell (1862 – 26 October 1911) was a politician, trade unionist and shearer in New South Wales, Australia.
Born at Stuart Mill near St Arnaud, Victoria, to Christina née McMaster and Alexander Macdonell, a Scottish-born farmer and shearer. He helped on his father's farm as a child and moved to New South Wales in 1886, being an early member of the Australian Shearers' Union. He played a leading role in the 1891 strike, when he traveled to Queensland.[1] He became secretary of the Shearers' Union's Bourke branch and a member of the Labor Party in 1894, and helped to draft the rules for the new Australian Workers' Union. In the same year the shearers' and labourers' unions amalgamated . He continued as secretary of the AWU's Bourke branch thereafter. He was thr general secretary of the AWU from 1900 to 1911.[1]
In 1901 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the Labor member for Cobar, serving until 1911.[2] He was Minister for Agriculture and Chief Secretary in the McGowen ministry from 1910 to 1911.[3] He had been absent from the parliament from 1 March 1911 due to illness but was expected to recover when a political crisis caused by the resignation of 2 Labor members resulted in the parliament being prorogued and he was automatically expelled for non-attendance during an entire session. He was re-elected unopposed in the Cobar by-election on 7 October,[2] but died three weeks later.[3]
Macdonell died in Melbourne on 26 October 1911 (aged 48–49) and was buried at Stuart Mill.[3]
He was a friend of Henry Lawson who, in 1899, described Macdonell as "the tallest, straightest, and perhaps the best of the Bourke-side bush-leaders".[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Farrell, Frank (1986). "Macdonell, Donald (1862–1911)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ a b Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Cobar". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ^ a b c "Mr Donald Macdonell (1862-1911)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
