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William Henry (Bill) Sparks (1894–1967)

This article was published:

Bill Sparks, n.d.

Bill Sparks, n.d.

William Henry (Bill) Sparks (1894-1967) tailor and trade union official 

Birth: 28 December 1894 at Rockhampton, Queensland, son of Queensland-born parents William Sparks (1869-1914), labourer, and Mary Ellen, née Quinn (1870-1939). Marriage: 16 August 1929 at Brisbane, Queensland, to Jean Duesbury (1908-1996). They had three daughters and four sons. Death: 27 March 1967 at Kedron, Brisbane. Religion: Catholic. 

  • His father, a member of the Australian Workers’ Union, was injured working on the railway line at Ben Lidi-Blackall extension and died in Blackall hospital in 1914, leaving a widow and children in need of assistance. Bill, the eldest son, was working as a tailor in Rockhampton by 1916 and in Brisbane from 1919.
  • He was a member, vice-president then, in 1925, organiser of the Queensland branch of the Amalgamated Clothing & Allied Trades' Union (ACATU) and was appointed branch secretary in 1926 with backing of the federal secretary Herbert Carter.
  • An advocate for the union in the State Arbitration Court, he became representative of the branch on the ACATU federal council in 1926; he was senior vice-president in 1946 at least. He was the only delegate to support Carter's position in early 1930s. In the late 1930s he opposed acting federal secretary Alf Wallis's advocacy of equal pay for women.
  • By the 1940s the leadership was "old and somnolent" but survived all challenges, including the 1943 election of Communist Party of Australia's Valma Fraser as rival branch secretary.
  • In 1950s he presided over a declining trade with “Red-baiting' and nepotism”. During the 1955-1957 split, his regime was supported by anti-communist Clothing & Allied Trades' Union officials Jack Kenna and David Fraser. In 1956 he was elected ACATU federal president with Grouper support.
  • Member of Reconstruction ’s Rehabilitation Committee in 1946 at least. Retired.
  • Cause of death: myocardial infarction, congestive cardiac failure and coronary heart disease.

Sources
Bradon Ellem, In women’s hands? A history of clothing trades unionism in Australia (Sydney, 1989); Voice, September 1946, Winter 1948.

Additional Resources

  • caricature, Daily Standard (Brisbane), 22 November 1926, p 6

Related Entries in NCB Sites

Citation details

'Sparks, William Henry (Bill) (1894–1967)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/sparks-william-henry-bill-34751/text43732, accessed 5 October 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Bill Sparks, n.d.

Bill Sparks, n.d.

Life Summary [details]

Birth

28 December, 1894
Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

Death

27 March, 1967 (aged 72)
Kedron, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Cause of Death

heart disease

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