Matthew Charlton
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Matthew Charlton MP |
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Leader of the Opposition Elections: 1922, 1925, 1928 |
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In office 16 May 1922 – 29 March 1928 |
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| Prime Minister |
Billy Hughes Stanley Bruce |
| Deputy |
Albert Gardiner James Scullin |
| Preceded by | Frank Tudor |
| Succeeded by | James Scullin |
| Leader of the Labor Party | |
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In office 16 May 1922 – 29 March 1928 |
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| Deputy |
Albert Gardiner James Scullin |
| Preceded by | Frank Tudor |
| Succeeded by | James Scullin |
| Member of the NSW Parliament for Waratah |
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In office 1903–1904 |
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| Preceded by | Arthur Hill Griffith |
| Succeeded by | John Estell |
| Member of the NSW Parliament for Northumberland |
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In office 1904–1910 |
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| Preceded by | John Norton |
| Succeeded by | William Kearsley |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Hunter |
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In office 1910–1928 |
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| Preceded by | Frank Liddell |
| Succeeded by | Rowland James |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
15 March 1866 Linton, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 8 December 1948 (aged 82) Lambton, New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Martha Rollings |
| Occupation | Coal miner, politician |
Matthew Charlton (15 March 1866 – 8 December 1948) was an Australian Labor Party politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1910 to 1928, representing the New South Wales electorate of Hunter. He was leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1922 to 1928. Prior to entering federal politics, he had been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1903 to 1910.
Little is recorded about Charlton's early life, as he grew up in a relatively unknown mining district. It is known, however, that Charlton was born on 15 March 1866 in Linton, Victoria, a small town near Ballarat that today has less than 500 residents. He was born to Matthew Charlton, an English miner from Durham, and Mabel (née Foard). In 1871, the five-year-old Charlton's father moved with his family to Lambton, a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales. After primary education at Lambton Public School, Charlton began work at Lambton Colliery as a coal trapper; a children's-only job opening trapdoors for coal carts. When too old for the job, Charlton was given a job at the coal-face. At 23 he married Martha Rollings at nearby New Lambton.
In 1896 plans to reduce coal workers' wages led to strike action. Charlton supported the struggle against wage reductions, but the effort failed and, along with many other miners, he moved to the goldfields near Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. After two years there, Charlton returned to Lambton and became an official in the Colliery Employees' Federation, becoming treasurer in 1901. While occupying that position, Charlton also prepared arbitration cases. Battling for an improvement in mine workers' conditions, he attended a trade union congress in November 1902, at which he moved for nationalisation of the coal mining industry, believing it would "eliminate cut-throat competition between owners that depressed miners' wages and conditions". That idea was opposed as being too radical but a compromise was drawn up urging state governments to open and run their own coal mines, while affirming the ultimate desirability of full nationalisation.
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