James Crawford (Australian politician)

James Crawford
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Fitzroy
In office 2 October 1909 – 27 April 1912
Preceded by	Henri Cowap
Succeeded by	Kenneth Grant
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Mount Morgan
In office 27 April 1912 – 22 May 1915
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	James Stopford
Personal details
Born	James Crawford (1870-03-04)4 March 1870 Woonona, New South Wales, Australia
Died	28 December 1916(1916-12-28) (aged 46) Clermont, Queensland, Australia
Political party	Ministerial
Other political affiliations	Labour
Spouse	Myra Clarke (m.1905)
Occupation	Barrister

James Crawford (4 March 1870 – 28 December 1916) was a barrister and member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

Biography

Crawford was born in Woonona, New South Wales, to parents James Crawford and his wife Ellen (née Simpson) and attended school while still in Woonona. He was a coalminer in Wollongong in 1883 and by 1888 he was in Narrandera working for the railways. He became a barrister and solicitor working out of Clermont.

When working in the mines he became involved in the labour movement, becoming vice-president of the Australian Workers' Association in Cobar, New South Wales, and secretary of the Fitzroy Miners' Union. He was a member of the Royal Commission into the Mount Morgan disaster in 1908.

In 1905 he married Myra Clarke but it is not recorded if they had any children. He drowned in the catastrophic floods that hit Clermont in December 1916.

Political career

Crawford represented the state seat of Fitzroy from 1909 until 1912. He then represented the new seat of Mount Morgan in 1912 but was defeated by James Stopford in 1915. He started out representing the Labour Party but by the end of his political career he was a member of the Ministerialists.