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Arthur George Roth (1882–1919)

by Chris Cunneen

This article was published:

Arthur George Roth (1882-1919) Baptist clergyman, Socialist, boot manufacturer and IWW member

Birth: 1882 at Port Melbourne, Victoria, son of native-born parents William Roth (1858-1932), a bootmaker and a noted Victorian Socialist, and Elizabeth, née Goble (1859-1931), also an active Socialist. Marriage: 1 April 1907 at the Baptist Church, Footscray, Victoria, to native-born Eleanor Maude Gallant (1882-1940), daughter of the English-born former mayor of Footscray. They had one daughter. Death: 18 April [Good Friday] 1919 in his residence at The Crescent, Sandringham, Melbourne. Religion: Baptist. 

  • His uncle, Joseph Hunter Goble, was the noted Baptist pastor at Footscray.
  • Aged 12 Arthur went to Scotch College. In 1899 he became a home missionary in the Baptist Mission. Subsequently he was educated for the Baptist ministry at the Metropolitan Theological College, London, England. He stayed there for four years and successfully completed his course, especially in Greek and Hebrew. Ordained in England in about 1905, he also studied industrial conditions in England and Scotland before returning to Australia.
  • Back in Melbourne, he took charge of Elsternwick Baptist Church. He was also secretary of the Sunday School department of the Baptist Union and initiated the kindergarten in the Sunday schools.
  • After three years’ service he concluded that “the pulpit did not offer him an adequate opportunity for a full expression of his views on the social, economic and industrial questions of the day”. So about 1911 he resigned his ministry and took to the bootmaking trade, quickly building up a large business.
  • As a layman, he was responsible for building the new Elsternwick Baptist Church in Glen Huntley Road.
  • Now feeling “free to enter into practical politics”, he “began to express from the public platform his lifelong convictions with regard to industrial matters”. He joined the Melbourne Industrial Workers of the World Club and the Victorian Socialist Party, becoming an executive member.
  • Active in anti-conscription campaigns during World War I, he became a member of the Australian Labor Party and in 1917 was Labor candidate for Brighton.
  • In August 1918 he was charged under the War Precautions Regulations with making statements likely to prejudice recruiting, and was fined £10 with £5 7 shillings costs.
  • Cause of death: influenza (5 days) and pneumonia (1 day). He was buried in Footscray, his coffin, covered with a red flag being followed by official Labor and Socialist party representatives.
  • His adopted brother Reginald Charles Goble (1880-1947) enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in 1914 and served at Gallipoli and in France.

Sources
Recorder
, No. 47, August 1970, No. 82 June 1976; Socialist (Melbourne), 25 April 1919, 9 May 1919 p 2.

Additional Resources and Scholarship

Citation details

Chris Cunneen, 'Roth, Arthur George (1882–1919)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/roth-arthur-george-34804/text43825, accessed 8 February 2025.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

1882
Port Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Death

18 April, 1919 (aged ~ 37)
Sandringham, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Cause of Death

influenza

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.

Education
Occupation or Descriptor
Political Activism