Moses Gabb was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1919 to 1934, representing the electorate of Angas.
15 Facts About Moses Gabb
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Moses Gabb represented the Australian Labor Party until resigning during the 1931 Labor split; however, he did not join the United Australia Party along with the other dissident MPs, and instead remained in parliament as an independent.
3.
Moses Gabb passed as a candidate for ministry and studied at Prince Alfred College in 1908, before spending two and a half years preaching from a motor launch on the Murray River between Swan Reach and Loxton.
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Moses Gabb then left missionary work because of doctrinal differences, did not enter the ministry, and instead opened a store at Alberton until his election to parliament.
5.
Moses Gabb married Florence Ethel Hobbs on 9 October 1912.
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Moses Gabb was publicly involved in the campaign against conscription during World War I, and unsuccessfully contested the 1918 state election in the electorate of Barossa, narrowly losing to Sir Richard Butler.
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Moses Gabb was known for often calling quorum when the amount of MPs in the parliamentary chamber was low, believing that its strict application forced MPs to do their elected duties.
8.
Moses Gabb was re-elected at the 1922 election, defeating George Ritchie, who had resigned as state Treasurer to challenge Gabb.
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Moses Gabb was defeated by Nationalist candidate Walter Parsons in 1925, but defeated Parsons in 1929 to regain the seat.
10.
In 1931, he joined Joseph Lyons and several other members in leaving the Labor Party in the 1931 Labor split and supported a no-confidence motion in Labor Prime Minister James Scullin; Moses Gabb stated that he believed Scullin was a "sincere man", but strongly disapproved of Treasurer Ted Theodore.
11.
Moses Gabb was re-elected as an independent with the support of the Emergency Committee of South Australia at the 1931 federal election.
12.
Moses Gabb contested the 1938 state election as an independent, nominating against Premier Richard Layton Butler in his seat of Light, but was unsuccessful.
13.
Moses Gabb rarely listened to radio coverage of politics in later years because he felt broadcasting was bringing Parliament into disrepute.
14.
Moses Gabb remained publicly critical of parliamentary salary increases in later life, accusing politicians of "feathering their nests".
15.
Moses Gabb killed himself at his Rosewater home in 1951, and was cremated.