14 Facts About Frederick McDonald

Frederick Albert McDonald was an Australian politician.

Frederick McDonald was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives for Barton from 1922 until 1925, when he was narrowly defeated by Nationalist Thomas Ley.

Frederick McDonald was born in Grafton, New South Wales, and studied at the Sydney Teachers' College and the University of Sydney before becoming a teacher.

Frederick McDonald had been teaching at Hurstville Superior Public School for thirteen years at the time of his election; among his previous postings was at Wellington.

Frederick McDonald was president of both the New South Wales Teachers Federation and the Assistant Teachers' Association, and had been credited with gaining the Teachers' Federation access to the Industrial Court.

Frederick McDonald was president of his local branch of the Labor Party and president of Labor's electorate council for the Lang seat.

Frederick McDonald was narrowly defeated as a Labor candidate at the 1920 state election.

Frederick McDonald was involved in an extremely contentious race for re-election at the 1925 federal election, when he was challenged by Nationalist candidate and former state minister Thomas Ley.

Ley won the election by 1,090 votes, and Frederick McDonald acknowledged the defeat, stating "the Labor movement is ruled by its heart and not its head; had it been ruled by its head there would be a different story to tell".

In January 1926, Frederick McDonald challenged the election result in the Court of Disputed Returns on the basis of the bribery allegations.

In March 1926, it was reported that he and Ley had agreed on a legal settlement wherein Frederick McDonald issued an apology for the bribery allegations and they both stated their intention to withdraw their respective lawsuits.

However, it has been suggested that Frederick McDonald subsequently "had a fit of remorse" and refused to withdraw the petition.

On 15 April 1926, Frederick McDonald disappeared on his way to a meeting with New South Wales Premier Jack Lang, in which he was to have discussed a proposal to have the election result declared void.

Frederick McDonald was last seen at 2.30pm by his wife outside Challis House in Martin Place when he left for the appointment with Lang, but never arrived.