John Billson

John William Billson (10 January 1862 – 23 December 1924) was an English-born Australian politician.

He was born in Leicester to shoemaker William Daniel Billson and Betsy Sharp. A bootmaker, he married Sarah Jane Sarson Coverley on 14 October 1882; they had three children. He migrated to Australia in 1886 and became president of the Bootmakers' Union in 1893. His unionism made finding work difficult; he went briefly to Sydney, before returning to Victoria to become general secretary of the union and a member of the Eight Hours Committee. From 1898 to 1900 he served on Richmond City Council. In 1900 he won the seat of Fitzroy in the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Labor Party. He was a delegate to the federal Labor conferences in 1905 and 1915, and also served as president of the Trades Hall Council from 1901 to 1902. In December 1913 he briefly served as Minister of Railways. During World War I he was a passionate opponent of conscription, but was a vigorous recruiter for the war effort. He was deputy leader of the Labor Party from 1918 until his death in Melbourne in 1924.^[1]

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