15 Facts About Rowley James

Rowland "Rowley" James was an Australian politician and coalminer.

Rowley James was a member of the House of Representatives from 1928 to 1958, representing the New South Wales seat of Hunter.

Rowley James was a member of the Australian Labor Party, although during the 1930s he was associated with the breakaway Lang Labor faction.

Rowley James was the youngest of eleven children born to Welsh immigrant parents Mary Ann and Moses James.

Rowley James attended a local public school before beginning work as a coal miner in the Newcastle district.

Rowley James returned to New South Wales in 1916 and was an officeholder in the Australasian Coal and Shale Employees' Federation, representing the northern district on the union's central council.

Rowley James was elected to the Australian House of Representatives for the Australian Labor Party in 1928, succeeding former Labor leader Matthew Charlton in the seat of Hunter.

Rowley James was a critic of both the conservative government of Stanley Bruce and the Labor government of James Scullin for not prosecuting mine-owners during the protracted miner lock-out in northern New South Wales, which led to accusations of inciting mob violence; Smith's Weekly published his record of convictions, including drunkenness and assaulting police.

At the ensuing elections, both Labor parties lost heavily but Rowley James easily retained his seat.

Re-admitted to the ALP in 1936, Rowley James was chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on public works from 1943, and led the Australian delegation to the first International Labour Organization coal-mining committee in London in 1945.

Rowley James continued to be prominent in coal-mining affairs, and his support for Prime Minister Ben Chifley's stand on the 1949 coal strike prompted some to express a desire to expel him from the Miners' Federation.

Rowley James died on 4 July 1962 in the Sydney suburb of Ashfield, and was survived by his wife, daughter and three of his five sons.

Rowley James married Gladys Mary Davies in 1912, with whom he had a daughter and five sons.

Rowley James died on 4 July 1962 in Ashfield, New South Wales, aged 77.

Rowley James's son, William Thomas Rowley James, was a fitter on the NSW Railways, and was shot and killed by Roy Hindle at the South Maitland railway workshop on 20 November 1941.