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Henry Edward (Harry) Foster (1872–1950)

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Henry Edward (Harry) Foster (1872-1950) plumber and trade union official 

Birth: 10 December 1872 at Old Ford, Middlesex, England, son of Henry Foster (1841-1896), butcher, and Harriett, née Pilley (1849-1928). Marriage: 1898 in Melbourne, Victoria, to native-born Emma Eliza Bailey-Dellar (1867-1940). They had two sons. Death: 26 June 1950 in hospital at Parkville, Melbourne; usual residence Kingsgrove, Sydney, New South Wales. 

  • Arrived in Victoria with family in about 1878.
  • From 1898 to 1941 was secretary of the Victorian branch, Plumbers and Gasfitters’ Society. From 1912 to 1942 federal secretary, Plumbers and Gasfitters.
  • Treasurer of Victorian Australian Labor Party for many years, establishing branch at St Kilda, Victoria.
  • Associated with Tocsin and Labor Call as secretary of Industrial Printing and Publicity Company.
  • ‘Masterly in his energy’ behind the scenes and ‘not a platform man’.
  • Moved to NSW, where his son resided, in 1947.
  • Cause of death: haemorrhage and chronic gastric ulcer.

Sources
Labor Call, 29 June 1950; Worker, 31 May 1906.

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Citation details

'Foster, Henry Edward (Harry) (1872–1950)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/foster-henry-edward-harry-33683/text42156, accessed 13 June 2025.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

10 December, 1872
London, Middlesex, England

Death

26 June, 1950 (aged 77)
Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Cause of Death

gastric ulcer

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

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