Charlie Oliver (trade unionist)
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Charlie Oliver AM |
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| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia |
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In office 4 December 1948 – 16 August 1951 |
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| Preceded by | Philip Collier |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Moir |
| Constituency | Boulder |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
23 December 1901 Bangor, Carnarvonshire, Wales |
| Died | 24 February 1990 (aged 88) Caringbah, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Labor |
Cecil Thompson "Charlie" Oliver AM (23 December 1901 – 24 February 1990) was an Australian trade unionist and politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1948 to 1951, representing the seat of Boulder, and was later prominent in the labour movement in New South Wales as the state secretary (1951–1978) and state president (1980–1985) of the Australian Workers' Union.
Oliver was born in Bangor, Carnarvonshire, Wales, to Elizabeth (née Thompson) and John Murray Oliver. His family moved to England when he was a child, living first in Chester and later in Liverpool. He left school at the age of 13 to work as an agricultural labourer, and emigrated to Western Australia after World War I with an older brother. Oliver initially settled in Meekatharra, where he worked as a miner, and later also lived in Koolanooka, Perenjori, and Big Bell. He joined the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) in 1923, and in 1942 accepted a position as a district-level organiser.
In 1943, Oliver was appointed state secretary of the AWU's mining division, which was based in Boulder. He entered parliament at the 1948 Boulder by-election, which had been caused by the death of Philip Collier (a former premier). His chief opponent was the Liberal Party candidate, Billy Snedden, who was a future federal Leader of the Opposition. Oliver was re-elected unopposed at the 1950 state election, but felt under-utilised in parliament, and in mid-1951 resigned to accept a position as the AWU's New South Wales state secretary.
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