Arthur Blakeley

The Honourable Arthur Blakeley
Member of the Australian Parliament for Darling
In office 5 May 1917 – 15 September 1934
Preceded by	William Spence
Succeeded by	Joe Clark
Personal details
Born	(1886-07-03)3 July 1886 Gilberton, South Australia
Died	27 June 1972(1972-06-27) (aged 85) Glen Iris, Victoria
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Ruby Pauline McCarroll
Occupation	Unionist

Arthur Blakeley (3 July 1886 – 27 June 1972) was an Australian politician.

Blakeley was born in Gilberton, South Australia, and was educated at North Broken Hill Convent School. He left school at 13 to work in the local mining camps. He then mainly worked in pastoral occupations and became secretary of the western branch the Australian Workers' Union and a member of the state executive of the Australian Labor Party from 1915 to 1917. He married Ruby Pauline McCarroll in 1914.^[1]

Political career

In the 1917 election, Blakeley was elected as the member for Darling in the Australian House of Representatives after a sustained campaign against conscription. He was president of the Australian Workers' Union from 1919 to 1923. In April 1928, he was elected deputy leader of the parliamentary party, but lost it in 1929 to Ted Theodore. On the election of the Scullin government, Blakeley became Minister for Home and Territories until Labor's defeat at the 1931 election. This position was responsible for the development of Canberra and in 1930 he announced the establishment of a university college and in 1931, he abolished the Federal Capital Commission. His main interest in parliament were industrial affairs and public health. At the 1934 election, he was defeated by the Lang Labor candidate, Joe Clark.^[1]

Blakeley moved to Melbourne and in 1935 he was appointed an inspector of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, which he worked for almost continuously until his retirement in 1952. His wife died in 1962, and he died in 1972 in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris, after a state funeral he was cremated. He was survived by two sons and two daughters.^[1]

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