38:
457:
313:, he followed his father's trade as a bootmaker. Largely unschooled, barely literate, and with poor eyesight, Trenwith had a gift for oratory and public speaking which was to assist him in union organising and later as a politician. He was involved during the late 1870s with the National Reform League where he agitated for protective
507:
Trenwith was married three times. His first marriage was to
Susannah Page on 2 November 1868 and they had four children, a daughter and three sons. Susannah died in 1896. His second marriage was to Elizabeth Bright on 7 April 1896 and they would have three children, a daughter and two sons. Elizabeth
464:
Trenwith was the only elected labour representative at the
Federal Constitutional Convention (1897–98), which drafted a constitution for the Federation of the six Australian colonies in 1901. His support of Federation was over the objections of most in the labour movement, and served to ameliorate
427:
During 1892 Trenwith was elected leader of the
Victorian Labour Party but continued to have problems at the grassroots with strong opposition from public meetings chaired by Chummy Fleming. In 1893 Trenwith opposed Chummy Fleming's proposal for the affiliation of the
423:
he argued strongly for compulsory arbitration over direct action, much to the disgust of labour radicals. He was the lone labour representative in the
Victorian Parliament until the following election in April 1892 when 13 labour aligned candidates were elected.
447:
ministry, and briefly as Chief
Secretary (1901–02). The Government he was part of came under attack in November 1902 from a Trades Hall motion from Chummy Fleming protesting against the reduction of old age pensions from 10/- to 8/-.
860:
830:
498:
Of "commanding intellect" (F.W. Eggleston), and often wearing a silk top hat, his undeniably significant career in labour politics seems to have been a stage in a journey which left his origins far behind him.
840:
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bureaucrat being opposed by radicals such as Chummy
Fleming about working conditions, who accused Trenwith and other moderate THC bureaucrats, of 'working with blood-sucking capitalists.
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to the Trades Hall
Council on the grounds that as a secret organisation it could not be organised industrially.
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Trenwith died in
Melbourne on 26 July 1925, aged 79, survived by his third wife and his seven children.
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in 1879 he served as its
Secretary in 1883. He was instrumental in coordinating the 1884 bootmakers'
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217:
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391:, and was also made a Life Governor of the Homeopathic Hospital that year. By 1890 he was seen as a
346:
670:
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Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the
Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914
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Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914
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556:
473:
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154:
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301:(Labour Party) from 1892 to 1900. He also served as Senator for Victoria from 1904 to 1910.
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resulted in his defeat at the following election and retirement from federal politics.
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289:(15 July 1846 – 26 July 1925) was an Australian labour movement politician and pioneer
25:
814:
477:
338:
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456:
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died in 1923. His third marriage was to Helen Florence Sinclair on 1 October 1924.
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After a number of attempts at nomination, Trenwith was elected in May 1889 for the
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in the bootmaking industry to eliminate cheap labour and encourage unionisation.
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that the Federation Bill had been "wholly shaped in a conservative direction".
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for Victoria. His withdrawal of support for the Federal Labor government of
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Trenwith served as Minister for Railways, commissioner for Public Works and
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Trenwith honed his public oratory skills at North Wharf on the banks of the
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598:
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697:"Trenwith, William Arthur (1846–1925) Senator for Victoria, 1904–10"
455:
861:
Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia
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on behalf of the People's Party against the sitting Labor MLA
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Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria
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He attempted to return to Victorian state politics at the
628:
Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851
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Trenwith at the 1898 Australasian Federal Convention.
701:
The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate
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From 1903 to 1910 Trenwith served as an Independent
443:between November 1900 and February 1901 in the Sir
349:and was an important campaign in the fight against
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841:Independent members of the Parliament of Australia
260:Helen Florence Sinclair (m. 1924-1925; his death)
599:"Chummy Fleming (1863-1950): a brief biography"
871:Vice-Presidents of the Board of Land and Works
543:"Trenwith, William Arthur (Billy) (1846–1925)"
866:Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
856:Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria
743:. 28 July 1925. p. 10 – via Trove.
441:Vice-President of the Board of Land and Works
293:official who served as the 1st leader of the
8:
782:Gravesite at Brighton General Cemetery (Vic)
766:"William Trenwith and the Bootmakers Union"
411:on a labour platform and sought reforms in
551:. Canberra: National Centre of Biography,
258:Elizabeth Bright (m. 1896-1923; her death)
36:
20:
387:In 1886, he was elected President of the
125:28 March 1889 – 18 November 1903
724:, Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p.336.
660:, Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p.215.
487:, unsuccessfully contesting the seat of
78:21 April 1892 – 3 December 1900
520:
345:, which saw Victoria's first fullscale
256:Susannah Page (m. 1868-1896; her death)
333:As one of the founding members of the
171:1 January 1904 – 30 June 1910
51:Leader of the Labour Party in Victoria
886:Ministers for Public Works (Victoria)
846:Politicians from Launceston, Tasmania
778:"William Arthur Trenwith (1846–1925)"
754:"Trenwith, William A. (c. 1846–1925)"
671:"William Arthur Trenwith (1846-1925)"
536:
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7:
592:
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384:activists and radicals of the time.
335:Victorian Operative Bootmakers Union
881:20th-century Australian politicians
799:Dictionary of Australian Biography
548:Australian Dictionary of Biography
419:and tariff protection. During the
14:
368:on Sunday afternoons, along with
891:Ministers of Railways (Victoria)
851:Members of the Australian Senate
353:. He advocated the abolition of
758:Australian Trade Union Archives
553:Australian National University
409:Victorian Legislative Assembly
109:Victorian Legislative Assembly
1:
876:Chief Secretaries of Victoria
485:1911 Victorian state election
323:Victorian Legislative Council
735:"Death of Mr W. A Trenwith"
309:Born to convict parents at
907:
836:Australian trade unionists
794:"Trenwith, William Arthur"
382:Australian labour movement
276:Bootmaker, union secretary
675:Brighton General Cemetery
624:"William Arthur Trenwith"
280:
175:
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35:
503:Personal life and death
287:William Arthur Trenwith
189:William Arthur Trenwith
632:Parliament of Victoria
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437:Parliament of Victoria
299:Australian Labor Party
804:Angus & Robertson
740:The Argus (Melbourne)
459:
343:Melbourne Trades Hall
16:Australian politician
772:on 14 February 2005.
421:1890 maritime strike
321:, and reform of the
311:Launceston, Tasmania
218:Camberwell, Victoria
202:Launceston, Tasmania
89:Position Established
597:James, Bob (1986).
407:(1889–1903) to the
389:Trades Hall Council
237:United Labour Party
462:
399:Victorian politics
562:978-0-522-84459-7
445:Alexander Peacock
284:
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101:Frederick Bromley
67:
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807:
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768:. Archived from
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656:William Coleman,
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638:on 23 April 2023
634:. Archived from
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583:
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465:accusations of
452:Federal politics
430:Knights of Labor
405:seat of Richmond
295:Victorian branch
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180:Personal details
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30:William Trenwith
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489:Gippsland North
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380:and many other
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677:. 28 July 2019
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215:(aged 79)
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26:The Honourable
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770:the original
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704:. Retrieved
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679:. Retrieved
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640:. Retrieved
636:the original
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606:. Retrieved
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417:unemployment
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378:Monty Miller
370:Joseph Symes
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213:(1925-07-26)
211:26 July 1925
199:15 July 1846
166:
143:Succeeded by
120:
96:Succeeded by
88:
73:
18:
826:1925 deaths
821:1846 births
541:Scates, B.
393:Trades Hall
362:Yarra River
291:trade union
241:Independent
225:Nationality
220:, Australia
131:Preceded by
84:Preceded by
55:Elections:
815:Categories
802:. Sydney:
706:22 January
681:23 January
608:23 January
515:References
305:Early life
273:Occupation
228:Australian
195:1846-07-15
571:1833-7538
413:education
366:Melbourne
347:picketing
253:Spouse(s)
248:(1909–10)
243:(1904–09)
167:In office
121:In office
74:In office
792:(1949).
642:5 August
579:70677943
319:land tax
265:Children
159:Victoria
113:Richmond
474:Senator
467:the Age
435:In the
355:outwork
315:tariffs
297:of the
246:Liberal
155:Senator
577:
569:
559:
376:, and
339:strike
364:, in
341:from
708:2023
683:2023
644:2022
610:2023
575:OCLC
567:ISSN
557:ISBN
317:, a
208:Died
185:Born
157:for
111:for
65:1900
61:1897
57:1894
49:1st
817::
796:.
780:.
756:.
737:.
699:.
673:.
630:.
626:.
601:.
587:^
573:.
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523:^
495:.
415:,
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325:.
63:,
59:,
806:.
784:.
760:.
710:.
685:.
646:.
612:.
581:.
268:7
197:)
193:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
