William Dickson (Australian politician)

William Edward Dickson (26 April 1893 – 22 May 1966) was an English-born Australian politician.[1]

The Honourable William Dickson
12th President of the New South Wales Legislative Council
In office 18 August 1952 – 22 May 1966
Deputy	Thomas Steele Ernest Gerard Wright
Preceded by	Ernest Farrar
Succeeded by	Harry Budd
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
In office 23 December 1925 – 22 April 1934
Appointed by	Sir Dudley de Chair
In office 23 April 1934 – 22 May 1966
Succeeded by	Norman Boland
Personal details
Born	26 April 1893 Widnes, Lancashire, England
Died	22 May 1966 (aged 73) Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch) Australian Labor Party (NSW) Industrial Labor Party
Education	Farnworth Grammar

Early life

Dickson was born at Widnes in Lancashire 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. He lost his job after opposing conscription during World War I, 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.[1]

Political career

He then moved to Sydney, and from 1925 to 1934 was a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Involved in Bob Heffron's Industrial Labor Party, 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 1949 was Minister for Building Materials. In 1949 he was appointed Secretary for Mines in addition to his previous portfolio, and in 1950 his title was Minister for Secondary Industries. In 1952 he was elected President of the Council. He retained the presidency until his death at Vaucluse in 1966.[1]

References

1. "Mr William Edward Dickson (1893-1966)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 30 April 2019.