Eli James Harrison [16704] ³

  Noted events in his life were:

• Election: Member of the NSW Legislative Council, 1943 Apr 23 to 1949 Oct 28, New South Wales, Australia. ⁶ Qualifications, occupations and interests
Railwayman. Educated at state secondary level; worked on a dairy farm; joined the New South Wales railways in 1925, cleaner at Eveleigh workshops, transferred to Werris Creek in 1926, Orange from 1933 until 1936; president of Orange branch of Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen from 1934 until 1936, state secretary and federal vice president to 1949, then federal president; associate editor of Locomotive Journal in 1938; Australian Council of Trade Unions, delegate to Inland Transport Committee, International Labor Organisation, Geneva in 1947; delegate until 1957 to the Inter Parliamentary Union and member of Council from 1957 until 1958.

• Court Notice: PROMISE, IF GIVEN, OF 40-HOUR WEEK SHOULD WEIGH WITH COURT, 1946 Jun 4. ⁷ PROMISE, IF GIVEN, OF 40-HOUR WEEK SHOULD WEIGH WITH COURT. (1946, June 4). Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68978801>
Judge Kelly was commenting on the evidence of Mr. Eli James Harrison, N.S. Wales divisional secretary of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen, that the promise was made by the late Mr. Curtin.
To acting-Chief Judge Drake-Brock- man, Mr. Harrison said he could, pro- duce the relevant minute showing the promise. When he was Leader of the Opposition and Mr. Menzies was Prime Minister, Mr. Curtin called a confer-ence of the trade union movement in Sydney. He told those present that if they wanted such things as a 40-hour week the first thing for them to do was to help win the war.…

• Court Notice: CLAIMS CURTIN PROMISED 40-HOUR WEEK, 1946 Jun 4. ⁸ CLAIMS CURTIN PROMISED 40-HOUR WEEK. (1946, June 4). The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50273315>

The witness who gave this evidence was Mr. Eli James Harrison, New South Wales provisional secretary of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen.
Mr. Harrison said the promise was made by Mr. Curtin when he was West Australian delegate to the Federal conference of the Australian Labour Party.

• Court Notice: COURT STAND ON 40 HOURS, 1946 Jun 5. ⁹ COURT STAND ON 40 HOURS. (1946, June 5). The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50265882>
Mr. Lewis was objecting to a question to Mr. Eli James Harri- son (New South Wales secretary of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Engineers) by Mr. S. C. G. Wright (for certain em- ployers), who asked: "You feel aggrieved that the Government is adopting a passive attitude to wards these proceedings?"
The court disallowed the ques- tion.
Mr. R. M. Eggleston (represent- ing the A.C.T.U.) said that Mr. Harrison had been in error the previous day in saying that Mr. Curtin had promised unions a 40 hour week within six months of the cessation of hostilities. Mr. Curtin had been present, but had not seconded the motion. He had been aware of the purport of the motion before its submission, said Mr. Eggleston.
In evidence, Mr. Harrison said that Mr. Curtin had told delegates from 230 unions in camera in 1941 that unions could not get a 40 hour week until the war had been won. Mr. Curtin had said at the 1941 conference, "I am telling this meeting that Australia will have to carry the responsibility of the con- flict with other nations because there are £60 million worth of guns pointing the wrong way which will never fire a shot. It is like clos- ing the front door and leaving the back door open."
Mr. Curtin had said that an Eastern nation would come into the war at a time suitable to itself, said Mr. Harrison. He had also forecast the fall of Singapore.

• Election: Member for Blaxland in the Australian Parilament, 1949 Dec 10 to 1969 Sep 29. ⁵

• Election Note, 1950 Jan 31. ¹⁰ INTRODUCTION TO CANBERRA. (1950, January 31). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2764305>

Mr. Eli James Harrison, new Labour member for Blaxland, should find much to interest him in Canberra with its numerous gardens. A gardening enthu-siast, he specialises mainly in azaleas, roses and glalioli, which grow profusely around the seat of Government.
Born at Port Macquarie he be- came a member of the Legisla-tive Council and Federal Presi-dent and State Secretary of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Engineers. He was first elected to the Executive of the A.L.P. in 1930, although ho held office in the branches of the party for some years.
A cricket enthusiast, he was elected Patron of the Auburn Cricket Club and Auburn-Lidcombe Cricket Association in 1939.

• Advertising, 1950 Mar 11. ¹¹ Advertising. (1950, March 11). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 44. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27575888>

ELECTION OF A MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF NEW SOUTH WALES TO FILL THE VACANCY CAUSED BY THE RESIGNATION, ON THE TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY OF OCTO- BER, 1949, OF THE HONOURABLE ELI JAMES HARRISON.

• Election Note: Resignation of Upper House Seat, 1950 Mar 22, Canberra, , Australian Capital Territory, Australia. ¹² LABOUR WINS UPPER HOUSE SEAT. (1950, March 22). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2772130>
Another by-election will be held to-morrow to fill the va-cancy in the Legislative Council caused by the resignation of Mr. Eli James Harrison, who has been elected to the House of Representatives.

• Personal Papers: Personal Papers of Prime Minister Fraser, 1976 Sep 7. ¹³ Title
[Personal Papers of Prime Minister Fraser] Condolence: Eli James Harrison, 7 September 1976 [speech notes]
Contents date range
07 Sep 1976 - 07 Sep 1976
Series number
M1263 <http://naa12.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/SeriesDetail.aspx?series_no=M1263&singleRecord=T> to see which government agency or person created this item.
Control symbol
298
Item barcode
8892378
Location
Canberra
Access status
Not yet examined
Physical format
PAPER FILES AND DOCUMENTS (allocated at series level)
Extent
3 folios
Date registered
03 Jun 2005

Eli married Una Grace Maude Brown [16703] [MRIN: 6497], daughter of Henry Seymour Brown [8714] and Maud Mary Blackman [8643], in 1924 in Port Macquarie, Macquarie County, New South Wales, Australia.¹ (Una Grace Maude Brown [16703] was born on 1904 Mar 12 in Condobolin, Cunningham County, New South Wales, Australia ¹⁴ and died on 1990 Jul 25 in <New South Wales>.)

Eli next married Unknown [35391] [MRIN: 13366].