Joseph Silver Collings (11 May 1865 – 20 June 1955) was a long-serving Australian politician. He was a hardworking Australian Labor Party bureaucrat with valuable writing and speaking talents, who was eventually rewarded by a five-year stint as a federal government minister.
Collings was born in Brighton, England and educated at Brighton Board School and by his parents. He reported for the Sussex Daily News before emigrating with his parents to B...
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Joseph Silver Collings (11 May 1865 – 20 June 1955) was a long-serving Australian politician. He was a hardworking Australian Labor Party bureaucrat with valuable writing and speaking talents, who was eventually rewarded by a five-year stint as a federal government minister.
Collings was born in Brighton, England and educated at Brighton Board School and by his parents. He reported for the Sussex Daily News before emigrating with his parents to Brisbane when he was 18. He worked as a farm labourer, failed as a selector and, in 1885, married Kate McInerney. He found work in the footwear industry and was at one time secretary of the Queensland Boot and Shoe Manufacturers' Association. He worked with "scabs" during a strike in 1895 and was ostracised by the Boot Trade Union although he worked hard for the labour movement. His support for the 1912 Brisbane general strike led to him being forgiven by the unions and he subsequently established the Queensland Federated Clerks Union.
Collings...
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