Ambrose Carmichael

Ambrose Campbell Carmichael (born September 19, 1866 in Hobart , † January 15, 1953 in Sydney ) was an Australian politician.

Carmichael attended Christ College in his hometown, trained as an accountant, and began law school. In 1888 he went to Brisbane and worked there as a teacher and legal advisor. After his marriage, he set up a ranching company in New South Wales, where he helped found the regional branch of the Farmers and Settlers' Association . In 1900, failed his business, and he moved to Sydney, where he was a teacher, journalist and accountant of the company OC Beale & Co worked.

He joined the Union of Leichhardt of the Labor Party and was already in 1907 one of the important parliamentarians of this party in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly . He became honorary chairman of the party in 1910, treasurer in 1911 and, after the resignation of Niels Rasmus Wilson Nielsen , Minister for Public Education, Labor and Industry of New South Wales from August to November 1911. He then returned to public education and was again Minister of Labor and Industry from December 1912 to June 1913.

As Minister of Education, he enforced the University Amendment Act in 1912 , which liberalized the universities and linked them to the school system, and the Bursary Endowment Act brought about equality for students in church and state schools and a reduction in the disadvantage of indigenous students. He reformed medical care in schools, reserved part of the Art Gallery's budget for the purchase of works by Australian artists, and in 1914 founded the State Conservatorium of Music .

In 1914, Carmichael suffered a nervous breakdown and went on a recreational trip to England, where he won Henri Verbrugghen as director of his conservatory. After the outbreak of World War I, he founded a voluntary rifle company in Sydney. In March 1915 he resigned as minister. In the fall of 1915, he joined the 36th Battalion . In May 1916 he embarked for England, came to France in November and was wounded at Houplins in March 1917. He was awarded the Military Cross and promoted to Captain. After a second wound, he returned to Sydney in early 1918.

With the help of the new Labor Party leader, John Storey , Carmichael, who campaigned for conscription, became chairman of the State Recruiting Committee . He picked up a new Carmichaels' thousand , which he did not bring to France until the end of the war. With his announcement of the founding of a People's Party of Soldiers and Citizens in 1919, he met criticism from the established parties. In 1922 he joined the National Party of Australia , but renounced the Federal Seat for North Sydney in favor of William Morris Hughes .

source

• Australian Dictionary of Biography - Carmichael, Ambrose Campbell