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Arthur Edwin Dengate (1878–1918)

by Chris Cunneen

This article was published:

Arthur Edwin Dengate (1878-1918) engineer and trade union leader

Birth: 1878 in Liverpool, New South Wales, son of Edwin Dengate (1843-1924), farmer, and Amelia Elizabeth, née Lackey. Marriage: 1904 in Brisbane, Queensland, to Clare Sophia Gough. They had one son. Death: 22 June 1918 in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney. Religion: Anglican.

  • Joined the Amalgamated Society of Engineers [which later became the Amalgamated Engineering Union] about 1898. Worked as an engineer at Clyde Engineering Company at Granville, Sydney, in 1904.
  • Sometime secretary of the Sydney district committee of the ASE, he was State organiser at the time of his death. Was a leading figure in a strike during 1917.
  • In the 1917 split in the Australian Labor Party, Dengate remained loyal to the party, accusing premier Holman of betrayal of the labour cause. Defeated as Labor candidate for the seat of St George in the NSW Legislative Assembly in March 1917, in June he was elected executive committee member of the NSW Political Labor League as part of the ‘Industrialists’ ticket.
  • Appointed justice of the peace at Granvillle in July 1913. Was a member of the Lodge Sir Walter Scott, No. 123.
  • Cause of death: subphremic abscess after a long illness and a series of operations for appendicitis.

Additional Resources

  • photo, Mirror (Sydney), 11 August 1917, p 1
  • funeral, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 June 1918, p 7
  • appreciation, Cumberland Argus (Parramatta, NSW), 29 June 1918, p 2

Related Entries in NCB Sites

Citation details

Chris Cunneen, 'Dengate, Arthur Edwin (1878–1918)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/dengate-arthur-edwin-32690/text40603, accessed 28 November 2023.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

1878
Liverpool, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Death

22 June, 1918 (aged ~ 40)
Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Cause of Death

surgical complications

Religious Influence

Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.

Occupation
Key Organisations
Political Activism
Workplaces