12 Facts About Arthur Blakeley

Arthur Blakeley was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1917 to 1934, representing the Labor Party.

Arthur Blakeley was the party's deputy leader from 1928 to 1929 and served as Minister for Home Affairs in the Scullin government.

Arthur Blakeley was the son of Catherine Ann and Simeon Blakeley, his father being a house-painter from Yorkshire, England.

Arthur Blakeley was educated to the age of 13, when he left school to work in the mining camps.

Arthur Blakeley served as secretary of its western branch from 1915 to 1917, based in Bourke, New South Wales.

Arthur Blakeley married Ruby Pauline McCarroll in 1914, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.

Arthur Blakeley was president of the Australian Workers' Union from 1919 to 1923.

In 1931, Arthur Blakeley proposed the establishment of a special court for Indigenous people in the Northern Territory, similar to the later community courts.

At the 1934 election, Arthur Blakeley was defeated by the Lang Labor candidate, Joe Clark.

Arthur 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.

Arthur Blakeley's wife died in 1962, and he died in 1972 in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris, after a state funeral he was cremated.

Arthur Blakeley was survived by two sons and two daughters.