Harold Seddon

The Honourable Sir Harold Seddon
President of the Legislative Council of Western Australia
In office 26 November 1946 – 21 May 1954
Preceded by	James Cornell
Succeeded by	Anthony Loton
Member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia
In office 22 May 1922 – 21 May 1954
Preceded by	James Cunningham
Succeeded by	John Teahan
Constituency	North-East Province
Personal details
Born	6 March 1881 Openshaw, Lancashire, England
Died	25 February 1958 (aged 76) Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australia
Political party	Labor (to 1917) National Labor (1917–?) Nationalist (1922–1945) Liberal (from 1945)

Sir Harold Seddon (6 March 1881 – 25 February 1958) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1922 to 1954. He was President of the Legislative Council from 1946 to 1954.

Seddon was born in Openshaw, Lancashire, England, to Elizabeth Ann (née Davy) and William Seddon. His nephew, Harold Wilson, served twice as Prime Minister of United Kingdom. After studying electrical engineering at the Manchester Technical Institute, Seddon worked for a period in the electrical department of the Great Central Railway. He emigrated to Australia in 1901, finding employment as an electrical engineer with the Western Australian Government Railways in the goldfields. A member of the Amalgamated Engineering Union, Seddon first entered politics as a councillor for the Southern Cross Municipality.^[1] At the 1917 state election, he stood as the National Labor Party's candidate for the seat of Kalgoorlie, but was defeated by the sitting member, Labor's Albert Green.^[2]

From 1920 to 1922, Seddon served as a councillor for the Kalgoorlie Municipality. He was elected to parliament in May 1922, winning election to the Legislative Council's North-East Province as a Nationalist candidate.^[1] In November 1946, following the death of the President of the Legislative Council, James Cornell, Seddon was elected in his place.^[3] He was knighted for his service in June 1951.^[4] Seddon served as president until the 1954 election, when he was defeated by Labor's John Teahan (in one of a series of Labor victories). He lived in Kalgoorlie in retirement, dying there in February 1958, aged 76.^[1]

References

1. Harold Seddon – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
2. Black, David; Prescott, Valerie (1997). Election statistics : Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996. Perth, [W.A.]: Western Australian Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission. ISBN 0730984095.
3. "LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.", The West Australian, 27 November 1946.
4. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39243. p. 3062. 7 June 1951.