21 Facts About Ted Grayndler

Edward Grayndler was an Australian trade unionist and politician.

Ted Grayndler served as general secretary of the Australian Workers' Union from 1912 to 1941, the longest term in the union's history.

Ted Grayndler left school at a young age and worked in the Outback, becoming an inaugural member of the Amalgamated Shearers' Union.

Ted Grayndler was a paid organiser with the AWU from 1895 and was appointed Victorian secretary in 1900.

Ted Grayndler succeeded as general secretary in 1912 and preserved the AWU's independence and influence over several decades.

Ted Grayndler was an anti-conscriptionist during World War I and during the 1920s was known for his anti-communism and support of the White Australia policy.

Ted Grayndler was born on 12 October 1867 in Mount Victoria, New South Wales.

Ted Grayndler was the fourth son born to Johanna and John Grayndler; his mother was born in Ireland and his father in Canada.

Ted Grayndler resigned his position as secretary in 1909 due to ill health.

Ted Grayndler served as general secretary until 1941, the longest term in the organisation's history.

Ted Grayndler was "an early and staunch advocate of the settlement of industrial disputes through arbitration".

Ted Grayndler was a strong supporter of the White Australia policy.

Ted Grayndler maintained the AWU's policy of refusing admission to non-white workers, specifically excluding "Chinese, Japanese, Kanakas and Afghans" from membership.

In 1928, Ted Grayndler withdrew the AWU's affiliation from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, on the grounds that the ACTU had endangered the White Australia policy by joining the Pan-Pacific Trade Union Secretariat.

Ted Grayndler subsequently accused the ACTU of being a Communist front.

At the 1906 federal election, Ted Grayndler unsuccessfully stood for the Australian Labor Party in the Victorian seat of Grampians.

Ted Grayndler's term ended in 1934 when the council was reconstituted and made partially elective.

Ted Grayndler was elected to fill a casual vacancy in 1936 and remained a member until his death in 1943.

Ted Grayndler married Margaret Tamar Walsh in 1901, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.

Ted Grayndler lived in the Sydney suburb of Canterbury for most of his adult life.

Ted Grayndler died on 12 March 1943, aged 75, while visiting Melbourne to speak at the unveiling of a memorial to his AWU colleague John Barnes.