Edgar Dawes

Edgar Dawes
9th Australian Labor Party (SA) leader
In office 1931–1933
Preceded by	Lionel Hill
Succeeded by	Andrew Lacey
Personal details
Political party	Australian Labor Party (SA)

Edgar Rowland Dawes (28 November 1902 – 5 August 1973) was an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1930 until 1933, representing the electorate of Sturt. He was the leader of the official Labor Party in South Australia in the aftermath of the 1931 Labor split from May 1932 until his defeat at the 1933 state election.

Dawes was born at Norwood, South Australia and was educated at Norwood School and Norwood High School. He apprenticed as an engineer at A. W. Dobbie & Co. Ltd., and later worked as a fitter and turner at the Islington Railway Workshops. He was the secretary of the South Australian branch of the Australian Society of Engineers from 1927 to 1941, president of the United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia in 1930–1931, and state president of the Labor Party.

Dawes was elected to the House of Assembly in the Labor victory at the 1930 election, defeating a Liberal Federation MP in the multi-member Sturt electorate. He remained loyal to official Labor in the 1931 Labor split, and as state president of the Labor Party, wound up being a spokesperson for the party during the split. In May 1932, when the remaining six-member Labor caucus decided to elect a parliamentary leader, they selected Dawes. Dawes elected to recontest Sturt at the April 1933 election even though it was a close marginal seat, and in the aftermath of the split lost to a Liberal Federation candidate.

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