Campbell Carmichael

Campbell Carmichael MC
Minister of Public Instruction
In office 1 March 1912 – 5 March 1915
Preceded by	Frederick Flowers
Succeeded by	William Holman
In office 11 September – 26 November 1911
Preceded by	George Beeby
Succeeded by	Frederick Flowers
Minister for Labour and Industry
In office 10 December 1912 – 29 June 1913
Preceded by	George Beeby
Succeeded by	James McGowen
In office 11 September – 26 November 1911
Preceded by	George Beeby
Succeeded by	George Beeby
Treasurer of New South Wales
In office 17 April – 5 May 1912
Preceded by	John Dacey
Succeeded by	John Cann
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Leichhardt
In office 10 September 1907 – 18 February 1920
Preceded by	Robert Booth
Succeeded by	District abolished
Personal details
Born	(1871-09-19)19 September 1871 Hobart, Tasmania
Died	15 January 1953(1953-01-15) (aged 81) Darlinghurst, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Nationalist Party (after 1922)
Other political affiliations	Labor (to 1919) Soldiers and Citizens Party (1919–22)
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Australian Imperial Force
Years of service	1915–1919
Rank	Captain
Unit	36th Battalion
Battles/wars	First World War
Awards	Military Cross

Ambrose Campbell Carmichael, MC (19 September 1871 – 15 January 1953) was an Australian politician, soldier and accountant, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for 12 years and a minister in the McGowen and Holman Labor governments.

Early life

Carmichael was born in Hobart, Tasmania, to shipping agent William Carmichael and Emma Willson, both Scottish-born. He was educated at Hobart and then held a variety of occupations, including coaching in Brisbane and farming on the Lachlan River, where he became involved in the Farmers' and Settlers' Association of New South Wales. Around 1893 he married Mabel Pillinger at Lake Cargelligo. In around 1900 he established a business in Sydney.^[1]

Political career

In 1904 Carmichael joined Labor and worked on George Beeby's unsuccessful campaign for Leichhardt at the 1904 election.^[1] He was the Labor candidate for Leichhardt in 1907 and he was successful, defeating the sitting Liberal Reform member Robert Booth, with a margin of 485 votes (6.1%).^[2] He was appointed an honorary minister in 1910 in the McGowen ministry, assuming the Public Instruction and Labour and Industry portfolios in 1911. He was dropped from the ministry in November 1911, but was returned as Minister of Public Instruction from March 1912, briefly also serving as Treasurer from April to May 1912 and adding Labour and Industry from December 1912 until June 1913. He retained the portfolio of Public Instruction in the first Holman ministry, until March 1915, when he resigned over a dispute concerning seniority in the cabinet.^[3][4]

In November 1915 he started a successful recruiting campaign for 1,000 recruits to join him in the Australian Imperial Force for the First World War, referred to as "Carmichael's thousand".^[1] He enlisted as a private in January 1916, serving in the 36th Battalion.^[5] He was awarded the Military Cross for action at Houplines in 1917,^[6] returning to the frontline, attaining the rank of captain. He returned to Sydney in February 1918 and spoke to the Labor executive, explaining that while he was in favour of conscription it had been defeated in two referendums and was a dead issue. He ran another recruitment campaign to raise a second "Carmichael's thousand", which left Sydney in June 1918, arriving in France in late September when the war was ending.^[1]

He drifted from Labor and "machine politics" and in March 1919 formed the People's Party of Soldiers and Citizens.^[1] The party fielded 30 candidates in 10 districts at the 1920 election, with Carmichael standing as a candidate for the five-member seat of Balmain. None of the party's candidates were elected with Carmichael coming closest, missing out by a margin of 426 votes (1.4%).^[7]

Later life

Carmichael retired from public life and became a public accountant. He wrote to his former colleague William Ashford in 1921 stating that the prosecution of Ashford in a Royal Commission was in his opinion, a "damned dirty piece of political malice" that sickened him of present-day politics.^[8] After the failure of his party he joined the Nationalist Party in 1922 but did not stand for election again. His wife Mabel died in 1931,^[1] and his second marriage, which took place in 1934 in Sydney, was to Olive Thorngate née Weston. He died at Darlinghurst on 15 January 1953(1953-01-15) (aged 81).^[3] He had no children from either marriage and his second wife, Olive, died 5 days after him.^[1]

References

1. Nairn, Bede (1979). "Carmichael, Ambrose Campbell (1866–1953)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
2. Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Leichhardt". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
3. "Mr Ambrose Campbell Carmichael (1871–1953)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
4. "The cabinet: why Mr Carmichael resigned". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 March 1915. p. 6. Retrieved 24 July 2021 – via Trove.
5. "Service Records for Carmichael, Ambrose Campbell". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
6. "Military Cross (MC) entry for Lt Ambrose Campbell Carmichael". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 26 March 1917. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
7. Green, Antony. "1920 Balmain". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
8. "Mr. Ashford and Judge Street's Report". The Scone Advocate. 16 August 1921. p. 2. Retrieved 27 September 2021 – via Trove.

 

New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Robert Booth	Member for Leichhardt 1907–1920	District abolished