Stanley Whitford

Stanley R. Whitford (5 January 1878[lower-alpha 1] – 13 December 1959) was a unionist and Labor politician in the State of South Australia.

History

Stanley Whitford was born the youngest son of Richard Whitford (ca.1835 – 27 April 1898) and Emma Prior Whitford (the widow Prior), née Matthews, (1835 – 28 July 1908) of Moonta. His parents emigrated from Gunnislake, Cornwall on the Sir Richard Burlington, arriving in Adelaide on 14 February 1856. They spent three years in Burra before settling in Moonta.[3]

Stanley R. Whitford, as he became known, was educated at the State school and attended night classes at the Moonta School of Mines in 1897 and 1898. He was employed by a blacksmith for seven years, then from 1899 to 1908 worked on the goldfields in Western Australia.[2] then started working for the South Australian Railways at Mount Gambier and became active with the South Australian Railways and Tramways Association. He moved to Adelaide sometime before 1918, living at Gilles Street.[4]

Politics

He was an (unsuccessful) candidate for membership of the Mount Gambier Council in 1915 and 1916. He stood unsuccessfully as Labor candidate for the Young ward of the Adelaide City Council in 1918.[4] but succeeded at the following poll and served 1922–1924, when he was narrowly defeated – by this time he was living in Osmond Street, Adelaide.

He succeeded as the Labor candidate for North Adelaide in the South Australian House of Assembly in 1921 and again in 1924 but was beaten in 1927. In 1929 he was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council to fill a vacancy left by the death of John Carr. He was endorsed by the Labor Party at the last moment, as a replacement for Douglas H. Bardolph, who had displeased the party's power brokers.[5] He retained the seat until 1941.

He succeeded J. Jelley as Chief Secretary (leader of the government party in the Legislative Council) in 1930, and retained it until the demise of the Hill government in 1933. From 1930 to 1933 he was Minister for Immigration, Irrigation, Repatriation and Agriculture.[1]

He made headlines in 1931 when he admitted that he, like most politicians, achieved power with promises that could not, or should not, be delivered.[6]

He was expelled from the ALP in 1931 for supporting the Premiers' Plan, then re-admitted in 1945.[7]

Family

Whitford married Edith Thyra Dixon (ca.1878 – 20 March 1950),[8] also of Moonta, on 1 October 1910. They had two sons: Gene Whitford and Owen Whitford.

He had a sister Mary Lavinia "Polly" Whitford (ca.1856 – 18 April 1900), who married (mining) Captain Richard Cowling (ca.1854 – 27 September 1921) in 1877.[9] Other siblings were Richard Prior (ca. March 1854 – 10 September 1927), of Yelta, Mrs. C. J. Holmes, of Norwood and Whyalla; and Alma (ca.1870 – 17 September 1913), who married Benjamin Jolly, of Moonta Mines

Other interests

He was a fair musician, well known as a public speaker and popular for his humorous recitations.[10]

access-dateHe was fond of drinking in company, and was once fined £5 for frequenting a hotel bar after hours.[11] He once (unsuccessfully) sued a prohibitionist parson who criticized him as being manipulated by the alcohol industry. He was at the time a representative for a Scotch whisky company.[12]

He was a keen follower of the sport or pastime of coursing. He was an owner of "My Mate", winner of the (Australian) Waterloo Cup.

Artwork

He was several times caricatured by Copper Triangle artist Oswald Pryor.[13]

Notes
  1. Parliamentary records list his date of birth as 5 January 1878.[1] The Australian Dictionary of Biography gives his date of birth as 5 June 1878.[2] It is not known for what, if anything, the "R" stood.

References
  1. "Hon Stanley Whitford". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  2. Griffiths, A. R. G. "Whitford, Stanley R. (1878–1959)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  3. "Concerning People". The Register. Adelaide. 1 August 1908. p. 9. Retrieved 18 November 2014 – via Trove.
  4. "City Council". Daily Herald. Adelaide. 6 December 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 19 November 2014 – via Trove.
  5. "Political Labour Leaders Declare For Mr. S. Whitford". The Register News-Pictorial. Adelaide. 17 August 1929. p. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2014 – via Trove.
  6. ""I Plead Guilty"". The Border Watch. Mount Gambier, SA. 24 October 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 19 November 2014 – via Trove.
  7. "Mr. S. R. Whitford Re-admitted to A.L.P." The Australian Worker. Sydney. 19 September 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 19 November 2014 – via Trove.
  8. Edith's sisters included Ada Maude Dixon, who married R. S. Richards, and Mabel Dixon, who married Oswald Pryor.
  9. "Personal". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 28 September 1921. p. 9. Retrieved 19 November 2014 – via Trove.
  10. "Out Among the People". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 6 March 1940. p. 21. Retrieved 19 November 2014 – via Trove.
  11. "MLC. Fined". The Recorder. Port Pirie, SA. 22 July 1938. p. 1. Retrieved 19 November 2014 – via Trove.
  12. "Action for £2,000 by Mr. Whitford, M.L.C." The Advertiser. Adelaide. 15 September 1939. p. 26. Retrieved 19 November 2014 – via Trove.
  13. "Hon. S. R. Whitford (alias Stan) Spends a Night in Gaol". The News. Adelaide. 1 January 1931. p. 7. Retrieved 19 November 2014 – via Trove.
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