Harold Seddon

Sir Harold Seddon (6 March 1881 – 25 February 1958) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1922 to 1954. He was President of the Legislative Council from 1946 to 1954.

The Honourable
Sir Harold Seddon
President of the Legislative Council
of Western Australia
In office
26 November 1946 – 21 May 1954
Preceded byJames Cornell
Succeeded byAnthony Loton
Member of the Legislative Council
of Western Australia
In office
22 May 1922 – 21 May 1954
Preceded byJames Cunningham
Succeeded byJohn Teahan
ConstituencyNorth-East Province
Personal details
Born(1881-03-06)6 March 1881
Openshaw, Lancashire, England
Died25 February 1958(1958-02-25) (aged 76)
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australia
Political partyLabor (to 1917)
National Labor (1917–?)
Nationalist (1922–1945)
Liberal (from 1945)

Early life

Seddon was born in Openshaw, Lancashire, England, to Elizabeth Ann (née Davy) and William Seddon. His nephew, Harold Wilson, served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. After studying electrical engineering at the Manchester Technical Institute, Seddon worked for a period in the electrical department of the Great Central Railway. He emigrated to Australia in 1901, finding employment on the Eastern Goldfields as an electrical engineer with Western Australian Government Railways. Seddon became prominent in the Amalgamated Engineering Union, and also served on the Southern Cross Municipal Council.[1]

Politics and later life

After the Labor Party split of 1916, Seddon joined the newly formed National Labor Party. He stood as the party's candidate in the seat of Kalgoorlie at the 1917 state election, but was defeated by the sitting member, Labor's Albert Green.[2] From 1920 to 1922, Seddon served on the Kalgoorlie Municipal Council. He was elected to parliament in May 1922, winning election to the Legislative Council's North-East Province as a Nationalist candidate.[1]

In November 1946, following the death of the President of the Legislative Council, James Cornell, Seddon was elected in his place.[3] He was knighted for his service in June 1951.[4] He served as president until the 1954 election, when he was defeated by Labor's John Teahan (in one of a series of Labor victories). Seddon lived in Kalgoorlie in retirement, dying there in February 1958, aged 76. He had married Winifred Jean Dunstan in 1932, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.[1]

See also

References
  1. Harold Seddon – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  2. Black, David; Prescott, Valerie (1997). Election statistics: Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996. Perth, [W.A.]: Western Australian Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission. ISBN 0730984095.
  3. "LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.", The West Australian, 27 November 1946.
  4. "No. 39243". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1951. p. 3062.
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