Arthur Calwell
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The Right Honourable Arthur Calwell |
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Leader of the Opposition Elections: 1961, 1963, 1966 |
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In office 7 March 1960 – 8 February 1967 |
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| Prime Minister |
Robert Menzies Harold Holt |
| Deputy | Gough Whitlam |
| Preceded by | H. V. Evatt |
| Succeeded by | Gough Whitlam |
| Leader of the Labor Party | |
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In office 7 March 1960 – 8 February 1967 |
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| Deputy | Gough Whitlam |
| Preceded by | H. V. Evatt |
| Succeeded by | Gough Whitlam |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Melbourne |
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In office 21 September 1940 – 2 November 1972 |
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| Preceded by | William Maloney |
| Succeeded by | Ted Innes |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 August 1896 Melbourne, Victoria |
| Died | 8 July 1973 (aged 76) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth |
| Occupation | Unionist |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Arthur Augustus Calwell KCSG (28 August 1896 – 8 July 1973) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.
Arthur Calwell was born in Melbourne. His father was a police officer of Irish-American and Welsh descent, and both father and son were active in Melbourne's Irish community (including membership of the Celtic Club). His mother was of Irish descent. The young Arthur Calwell attended St Joseph's Christian Brothers College, North Melbourne after receiving a scholarship from St Mary's Primary School, West Melbourne. He was considered a gifted student and matriculated from St Joseph's in 1912. A devout Roman Catholic, he joined the Australian Labor Party around 1915. Lacking the financial resources to pursue a university education, Calwell read very widely, acquired substantial skill in speaking to audiences, and became a clerk in the Victorian Public Service, in which he worked for the Department of Agriculture and the State Treasury. From 1927 to 1931 he served as President of the Victorian branch of the Australian Public Sector Association (the union representing himself and his colleagues).
Calwell's first marriage was to Margaret Mary Murphy in 1921. She died in 1922, and ten years later, on 29 August 1932, he married Elizabeth (Bessie) Marren, a strong-willed, intelligent and well-read Irishwoman who was social editor of the Catholic weekly newspaper, the Tribune. In 1933 they launched the Irish Review as the official organ of the Victorian Irish Association. Calwell had met Elizabeth at Irish language classes run by the Gaelic League in Melbourne, and retained an interest in and fluency in the language.
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