Brassington, Samuel John
Personal
Birth Date:
6 May 1901 (Augathella, Queensland)
Death Date:
4 October 1950 (Brisbane, Queensland)
Parents:
Maurice Brassington and Margaret (nee Kelly)
Family:
Merle E Booth on 2 January 1928, 1 son, 1 daughter
Education:
Augathella State School
Religion:
Roman Catholic
Career
Inspector, factories and shops, 1932 to 1933; Secretary, Charleville Branch, Australian Workers Union, 1922 to 1926; Organiser South-West district, Australian Workers Union, 1921 to 1922; Representative, Australian Workers Union, 1919; Bushworker, shearer and drover, 1913
Local Government Service:
Mayor, Charleville Shire Council, 1924
Parliamentary Representation
| House | Party | Electorate | From | To | Elected/Departure Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assembly | ALP | Balonne | 6 Aug 1927 | 11 Jun 1932 | By-election |
| Assembly | ALP | Fortitude Valley | 15 Jul 1933 | 4 Oct 1950 | Died in Office |
Parliamentary Service
| Description | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Speaker of the Legislative Assembly | 1 Aug 1944 | 4 Oct 1950 |
| Chairman of Committees | 16 Sep 1942 | 31 Jul 1944 |
Additional Information
Notes:
Interests included gardening and surfing. In one of his first sittings as Chairman of Committees, an air raid siren sounded an alert. Brassington ordered an exodus to the shelters. Members and staff emerged 40 minutes later from the catacombs when it was determined that the siren was a false alarm. It was under Brassington's Speakership that Mr JF Barnes was suspended (one of many times) from the House. On this occasion he refused to leave the parliamentary precinct. Mr Brassington ordered two detectives to evict him from the premises. Towards the end of his career, the parliament's standing orders were extensively changed. One of the changes was the introduction of Standing Order 123A, which allowed the Speaker to order the withdrawal of a disorderly member. Previously the only punishment available was the suspension of the member from the House. It was felt a lesser punishment was required
Sources:
Image courtesy of John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Neg: 40982 ; Queensland Parliamentary Debates, Motion of Condolence, First session of the 32nd Parliament, Vol. 198, 10 Oct 1950, pp. 612-613 (Brisbane, Qld: Government Printer); The Courier-Mail, 'Speaker's death: To have state funeral', 5 Oct 1950; Queensland Government Gazette, Vol. CLXXV, No. 101, 4 Oct 1950, pp. 1541-1542 (Brisbane, Qld: Government Printer); Lack, Clem, Three Decades of Queensland Political History, 1929-1960 (Brisbane: Government Printer, 1962); Alexander, JA, Who's Who in Australia, XIVth edition, 1950, p. 109 (Melbourne, Vic: Colorgravure Publications, The Herald); Emmerson, G., Queensland Parliamentary Library Research Report, 'Speakers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly: Samuel John Brassington 1944-1950, 5 Jun 2001
[Last Modified: Tuesday, 27 June 2017]