Joseph Gardiner
Encyclopedia
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
member for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....
seat of Roebourne
Roebourne, Western Australia
Roebourne is an old gold rush town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is 202 km from Port Hedland and 1,563 km from Perth, the state's capital. It prospered during its gold boom of the late 19th century and was once the biggest settlement between Darwin and Perth...
from 1911 to 1915. His sudden and still unexplained departure from Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
in 1915 was an important factor in the collapse of John Scaddan
John Scaddan
John Scaddan, CMG , popularly known as "Happy Jack", was Premier of Western Australia from 7 October 1911 until 27 July 1916.- Biography :...
's Labor government.
Joseph Gardiner was born in Adelaide, South Australia on 4 July 1886. He was educated at the Christian Brothers College in Adelaide, and was then apprenticed to his bootmaker father in West Perth
West Perth, Western Australia
West Perth is an inner suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. It is part of the inner mixed zone, and has predominantly office blocks which have displaced residential buildings. There is a high proportion of miners and consultants, and particularly medical specialists, compared to...
in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. He later went to the Pilbara
Pilbara region of Western Australia
The Pilbara is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia known for its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore...
region, where he traded on the coast between Cossack
Cossack, Western Australia
Cossack is an historic ghost town located 1,480 km north of Perth and 15 km from Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The nearest town to Cossack is Wickham. At the 2006 census, Cossack had a population of 236....
and Broome
Broome, Western Australia
Broome is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The year round population is approximately 14,436, growing to more than 45,000 per month during the tourist season...
. He was secretary of the Miners' Union at Whim Creek
Whim Creek, Western Australia
Whim Creek is a small town in Western Australia.Originally a post office known as "Whim Well", Whim Creek is on the North West Coastal Highway midway between Karratha and Port Hedland...
, and from 1910 to 1912 was manager of the Weld Hotel in Cossack. On 31 October 1911, Gardiner was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....
seat of Roebourne
Electoral district of Roebourne
The Electoral district of Roebourne was a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. It was named for the town of Roebourne and was created in 1890, being one of the original 30 seats contested at the 1890 state election....
. In 1913 and 1914 he lived in West Perth, and was secretary of the Bootmakers' Union.
In 1914, Gardiner married May Holman
May Holman
Mary Alice "May" Holman was an Australian politician. She was the first woman in the Australian Labor Party to become a parliamentarian...
, but the marriage was never consummated, was annulled in 1920, and was kept secret for decades. Shortly after this, Gardiner left the State, never to return. After an extended absence from Parliament House, inquiries were eventually made as to his whereabouts. When it was learned that he had left the State, Gardiner's seat was declared vacant on grounds of non-attendance on 30 September 1915. The Labor Party did not retain the seat in the subsequent by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
, and its majority of two was erased. Shortly afterwards, another Labor member resigned, and John Scaddan
John Scaddan
John Scaddan, CMG , popularly known as "Happy Jack", was Premier of Western Australia from 7 October 1911 until 27 July 1916.- Biography :...
's government was defeated.
Little is known of the rest of Gardiner's life. He was working as a labourer in Adelaide in 1922, and in June of that year, he married Bertha Annie Paver. He subsequently worked at various occupations while living for many years in Melbourne, Victoria. From 1932 on lived at Bentleigh, Victoria
Bentleigh, Victoria
Bentleigh is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Glen Eira. At the 2006 Census, Bentleigh had a population of 14,271.-History:...
. He was listed on the Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
n electoral rolls as a "journalist" when he died on 23 January 1965.