Samuel Nicholls

Samuel Robert Nicholls (15 May 1885 – 26 September 1939) was an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1917 to 1922, representing the electorate of Macquarie.

For the U.S. Representative from South Carolina, see Samuel J. Nicholls.

Samuel Nicholls
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Macquarie
In office
5 May 1917 – 16 December 1922
Preceded byErnest Carr
Succeeded byArthur Manning
Personal details
Born(1885-05-15)15 May 1885
Mudgee, New South Wales
Died26 September 1939(1939-09-26) (aged 54)
NationalityAustralian
Political partyAustralian Labor Party
OccupationClerk

Born in Mudgee, New South Wales, he was educated at public schools and became a clerk and cement worker. He was a trade unionist in the cement works at Portland for several years, serving as president of the Portland branch of the United Labourers Protective Society from 1910 and secretary of the Portland Cement Workers' Union from 1912.[1][2][3][4]

In 1917, he defeated Ernest Carr, a Labor turned Nationalist MP, to win the Australian House of Representatives seat of Macquarie for Labor by nine votes.[3] He refused to recruit for service during World War I, stating that he would not ask others to do what he was not prepared to do himself.[5] One repeated concern of Nicholls in parliament was the fate of workers at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory.[6][7][8][9] He held the seat until his unexpected defeat in 1922 by Nationalist Arthur Manning after a redistribution weakened his margin; he alleged irregularities with the result, but nothing further occurred.[3][10]

Nicholls worked as an insurance agent after his political defeat. In October 1923, he was sued for not repaying a loan, and was declared bankrupt in February 1924, a situation which he attributed to having himself loaned money that had not been repaid.[11][12] He was involved in a serious car crash in 1924 and was struck by lightning in 1926, but escaped with a "few bruises" and "severe shock" respectively.[13][14] Nicholls nominated for Labor preselection at the 1925 federal election and 1927 state election; the first was rejected by the party as "not in order", and he was soundly defeated for the latter.[15][16]

He died at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital in 1939 after a long illness, aged 54, and was buried in the Church of England portion of the Wagga Wagga Cemetery.[17]

References
  1. "District News". Mudgee Guardian and North-western Representative (2411). New South Wales, Australia. 22 March 1917. p. 31. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "DISTRICT COURTS". The Sydney Morning Herald (22, 546). New South Wales, Australia. 19 April 1910. p. 10. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
  4. "Local Brevities". Mudgee Guardian and North-western Representative. XLIV (1970). New South Wales, Australia. 30 May 1912. p. 16. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Not a Recruiter". Mudgee Guardian and North-western Representative (2517). New South Wales, Australia. 1 August 1918. p. 23. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "UTILISING LITHGOW FACTORY". The Week. LXXXIX (2, 307). Queensland, Australia. 12 March 1920. p. 13. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "LITHGOW MEN UNEMPLOYED". The Herald (13, 084). Victoria, Australia. 9 May 1918. p. 10. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "SMALL ARMS FACTORY TROUBLE". Kalgoorlie Miner. 24 (6027). Western Australia. 10 May 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "UNFIT FOR HABITATION". National Advocate. New South Wales, Australia. 16 June 1921. p. 2. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "MR. NICHOLLS READY FOR ANOTHER FIGHT". Lithgow Mercury. New South Wales, Australia. 17 January 1923. p. 1. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "EX-M.P. SUED". The Sydney Morning Herald (26, 762). New South Wales, Australia. 13 October 1923. p. 20. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "PAID OTHERS' BILLS". Daily Standard (3475). Queensland, Australia. 26 February 1924. p. 1. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "CAR SOMERSAULTS". Queensland Times. LXVI (11, 790). Queensland, Australia. 19 August 1924. p. 9 (DAILY.). Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. "CAUGHT IN STORM". Daily Telegraph. XLVI (43). Tasmania, Australia. 19 February 1926. p. 5. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. "FEDERAL LABOR SEATS". The Daily Telegraph (14, 284). New South Wales, Australia. 19 September 1925. p. 11. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. "The Bathurst Labor Selection". Nepean Times. 44 (4412). New South Wales, Australia. 20 August 1927. p. 1. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. "OBITUARY". Daily Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 26 September 1939. p. 4. Retrieved 8 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by
Ernest Carr		 Member for Macquarie
1917–1922		 Succeeded by
Arthur Manning


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