Portrait of Spence in 1908.

William Guthrie Spence (7 August 1846 - 13 December 1926), Australian trade union leader and politician, played a leading role in the formation of both Australia's largest union, the Australian Workers Union, and the Australian Labor Party. William Spence (1783–1860) was a British entomologist. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A trade union or labor union is a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment. ... The Australian Workers Union (AWU) is one of Australias largest and oldest trade unions. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Early life

Spence was born on the island of Eday in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, the son of a stonemason, and migrated to Australia with his family as a six-year-old child. He had no formal education and worked as a farm labourer in the Wimmera district of Victoria from the age of 13. Later he acquired a gold-mining license and worked for various mining companies. In 1871 he married Ann Jane Savage.^[1] Eday shown within Orkney Islands Eday is an island in Orkney, Scotland. ... The Orkney Islands, usually called simply Orkney, are one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. ... This article is about the country. ... The Wimmera is a region in the west of the Australian state of Victoria. ... Motto: Peace and Prosperity Other Australian states and territories Capital Melbourne Governor HE Mr John Landy Premier Steve Bracks (ALP) Area 237,629 km² (6th)  - Land 227,416 km²  - Water 10,213 km² (4. ...

In 1874 Spence was one of a number of militant mine-workers who formed the Amalgamated Miners' Association of Victoria, and he became the union's general secretary in 1882. He led the union into mergers with similar unions in the other Australian colonies, forming the Amalgamated Miners' Association of Australasia.^[2] In 1886 he became the first president of the Amalgamated Shearers' Union and by 1890 most shearers in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales had joined the union and 85 per cent of the shearing sheds were open to union members only.^[1]

Since the Australian economy was expanding rapidly at this time and there was an acute shortage of labour, the unions were in a strong bargaining position and were able to secure great improvements in the living standards of Australia's rural working class. But the Depression which began in 1891 led to acute class conflict as the mine owners and graziers tried to cut wages to remain solvent in the face of falling commodity prices, and the unions resisted. In 1894 Spence led the amalgamation of the miners, shearers and other rural workers into the Australian Workers Union (AWU), Australia's largest and most powerful union. There were bitter strikes in the maritime and pastoral industries, in which Spence played a leading role, although he was generally a force for moderation in the labour movement. He was the AWU's secretary from 1894 to 1898 and president from 1898 to 1917.^[1] The Australian Workers Union (AWU) is one of Australias largest and oldest trade unions. ...

Political career

The defeat of the strikes of 1891-1894 led Spence and other labour leaders to move into politics. Spence supported the formation of the Progressive Political League, an early labour party, in Victoria in 1891 and he was narrowly beaten at a by-election in 1892 for the seat of Dundas in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. In 1891, he supported the first election campaign by the Labour Party in New South Wales, which won a number of seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. In 1898 Spence he became MP for Cobar in western New South Wales.^[3] He remained president of the AWU, making him one of the most powerful men in New South Wales politics. He described himself as "an evolutionary, not a revolutionary, socialist." The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of Victoria in Australia. ... Slogan or Nickname: First State, Premier State Motto(s): Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Professor Marie Bashir Premier Morris Iemma (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 50  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004... The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. ... Cobar was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1894 to 1920, when it was combined with Willyama and Sturt to create a three-member Sturt. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of ideologies and movements which aim to improve society through collective and egalitarian action; and to a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ...

Unlike many in the labour movement, Spence supported the federation of the Australian colonies, and in 1901 he was elected to the first Australian House of Representatives as MP for Darling. Like most of the older generation of labour leaders who were born in the United Kingdom, Spence was associated with the more conservative wing of the Australian Labor Party, led by Billy Hughes. He was not really suited to parliamentary life and did not hold office in the Watson or Fisher Labor governments. When Hughes became Prime Minister in 1915, however, Spence became Postmaster-General in his government. The history of Australia began when people first migrated to the Australian continent from the north, at least 40,000-45,000 years ago. ... Australian House of Representatives chamber Entrance to the House of Representatives The Australian House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers) of the Parliament of Australia. ... The Division of Darling was an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... William Morris Billy Hughes, (September 25, 1862–October 28, 1952), Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia, the longest-serving member of the Australian Parliament, and one of the most colourful figures in Australian political history. ... John Christian Watson (on or around 9 April 1867 [exact date uncertain] - 18 November 1941), known as Chris Watson, Australian politician, was the third Prime Minister of Australia and the first federal parliamentary leader of the Australian Labor Party. ... Andrew Fisher at the naming of Canberra ceremony, 1913 Andrew Fisher (29 August 1862 - 22 October 1928), Australianpolitician and fifth Prime Minister of Australia, was born in Crosshouse, a mining village near Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. ...

In 1916 Hughes decided to introduce conscription to maintain Australia's contribution to the Allied forces in World War I. Most of the Labor Party bitterly opposed this, but Spence sided with Hughes. As a result he was expelled from the party along with Hughes and the other conscriptionist MPs. He was also deposed as president of the AWU and shortly after was expelled from the union. At the 1917 federal election, although Hughes was easily returned to power, Spence lost his seat, mainly because the AWU organised the rural workers to oppose him. Shortly after he was returned to Parliament at a by-election for the Tasmanian seat of Darwin. In 1919, he ran for the Melbourne, seat of Batman, but was defeated. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Slogan or Nickname: The Apple Isle; Holiday Isle Motto(s): Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Constitutional monarchy Governor William Cox Premier Paul Lennon (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 5  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $16,114... The Division of Darwin was an Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania. ... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre. ... The Division of Batman is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. ...

Spence took up farming and died of pulmonary oedema at Terang, Victoria, survived by his wife, four daughters and three of his five sons.^[1] Terang is a small Australian town with a population of just under 2,000 situated in the Shire of Corangamite in the western district of Victoria, Australia, on the Princes Highway 212 km south west of the States capital Melbourne. ...

Assessment

Spence was typical of the founding generation of the Australian labour movement, in that he was born in Britain rather than Australia, was self-educated, was active in the temperance movement and was an active Protestant Christian - he was a Primitive Methodist lay preacher. Like most of his generation, he was loyal to the British Empire and thus supported conscription, while the younger, Australian-born and more secular (or Irish-Catholic) wing of the labour movement opposed it. Unlike Hughes, he soon regretted his break with the Labor Party and never recovered from his rejection by the union he helped found. A cartoon from Australia ca. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

Honours

In 1972 the Canberra suburb of Spence was named after William Guthrie Spence.^[4] In October 2003 the Australian Workers' Union named its Melbourne headquarters in Spence's honour. For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... Spence is a suburb in the Belconnen district of Canberra. ... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre. ...

References

The Dictionary of Australian Biography is a reference work containing information on notable people associated with Australian history. ... The Australian National University, or ANU, is a public university located in Canberra, Australia. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Parliament of New South Wales consists of the Governor of New South Wales, the New South Wales Legislative Council and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Planning and Land Authority is an agency of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory, which advises the Minister for Planning, currently Simon Corbell. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Australian Workers Union memorial to Spence
• Serle, Percival (1949). "Spence, William". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.