People Australia

  • searches all National Centre of Biography websites
  • searches all National Centre of Biography websites
  • searches all National Centre of Biography websites

Browse Lists:

Cultural Advice

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website contains names, images, and voices of deceased persons.

In addition, some articles contain terms or views that were acceptable within mainstream Australian culture in the period in which they were written, but may no longer be considered appropriate.

These articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Australian National University.

Older articles are being reviewed with a view to bringing them into line with contemporary values but the original text will remain available for historical context.

Bartholomew James (Jim) Stubbs (1872–1917)

This article was published:

Jim Stubbs, by Bartletto, 1916

Jim Stubbs, by Bartletto, 1916

State Library of Western Australia, 67187176

Bartholomew James (Jim) Stubbs (1872-1917) tailor, trade union official and parliamentarian 

Birth: 31 May 1872 at Spring Gully, Sandhurst (Bendigo), Victoria, son of William Pardy Stubbs (1848-1911), a miner, born at Little Bredy, Dorset, England and Catherine, née Farrell (1850-1922), born at Tipperary, Ireland. Marriage: 11 November 1897 at Perth, Western Australia, to native-born Alice née Rewell, late Geddes (1863-1954), a widow with two children. They had no children. Death: 26 September 1917 at Ypres, Belgium. Religion: Catholic. 

  • On leaving school he became apprenticed to a tailor. Was employed as a tailor in various parts of Victoria. Joined union and the Australian Labor Party in 1890.
  • Arrived in Western Australia in 1894. Secured employment in Perth. Was a foundation member of Perth Tailors’ Union in 1896, president, and in 1911 secretary. Campaigned against sweating.
  • Worked on goldfields for three years. President of the Metropolitan Council of Amalgamated Labour Federation several times.
  • First president of the Amalgamated Tailors and Tailoresses’ Union on the eastern goldfields. President and vice-president of the Goldfields Trades and Labour Council.
  • Returned to Perth and represented his craft on the Trades and Labor Council there. He contested preselection for the seat of Subiaco in the Legislative Assembly in 1909 and stood for Central Ward in Subiaco municipality 1910. Was elected Labor member of the Legislative Assembly for Subiaco in 1911 and held the seat until his death.
  • Was a member of the Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society.
  • Enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 14 February 1916. After training at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, he was commissioned 2nd lieutenant on 8 August 1916 and embarked for active service abroad on 23 December 1916. Served with the 51st Battalion in France and Belgium.. Killed in action in the battle of Passchendaele, Ypres, in 1917.

Sources
David Black and Geoffrey Bolton, Biographical Register of members of the parliament of Western Australia, vol 1, 1870-1930, (Perth, 1990); Cyclopedia of Western Australia, Vol. 1 1912 pp 352-353; West Australan, 6 October 1917; C. T. Stannage The People of Perth. A Social History of Western Australia's Capital City (Perth, 1979), pp 250-51.

Additional Resources and Scholarship

Related Entries in NCB Sites

Citation details

'Stubbs, Bartholomew James (Jim) (1872–1917)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stubbs-bartholomew-james-jim-34828/text43867, accessed 6 November 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Jim Stubbs, by Bartletto, 1916

Jim Stubbs, by Bartletto, 1916

State Library of Western Australia, 67187176

Life Summary [details]

Birth

31 May, 1872
Bendigo, Victoria, Australia

Death

26 September, 1917 (aged 45)
Ypres, Belgium

Cause of Death

killed in action

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.

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
Military Service
Key Organisations
Political Activism
Workplaces