George Foley (politician)
George Foley | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1872-11-28 Walhalla, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 1945-10-27 Mount Hawthorn, Perth, Western Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Politician, auctioneer |
| Years active | 1911–1924 |
| Known for | Member of Western Australian Legislative Assembly for Mount Leonora (1911–1920); Member of the Australian House of Representatives for Kalgoorlie (1920–1922) |
George James Foley (28 November 1872 – 27 October 1945) was a politician from Western Australia, Australia. He served as the representative for the Mount Leonora seat in Western Australia's Legislative Assembly from 1911 until 1920. Initially affiliated with the Labor Party, he switched to the National Labor Party in 1917. Subsequently, Foley was elected to the Federal House of Representatives as a member of the Nationalist Party, representing Kalgoorlie until 1922.
Biography
Born in Walhalla on Victoria’s goldfields, Foley was the son of Thomas Foley, who worked as both a miner and railway employee, and Elizabeth Foley (née Stamp). His education took place locally and at a state training college in Melbourne. Before relocating to Western Australia in 1895 to engage in gold mining, he was employed by a newspaper based in Richmond. He eventually became a part-owner of the Grace Darling mine located at Broad Arrow. On 27 January 1902, he married Fannie Gill in Kalgoorlie. Foley played an active role in labor unions, holding the position of president for the Federated Miners Union’s Gwalia branch and later leading the North Goldfields Council within the Labor Federation.
Foley was chosen by the Labor Party to contest the Mount Leonora seat for the October 1911 election. He won decisively with 1,019 votes out of 1,172 cast and took his place in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. In 1914, he was re-elected without opposition.
In March 1917, after a division within the Labor Party concerning backing Nationalist Senate candidates, Foley aligned himself with the newly established National Labor Party, which enjoyed substantial support across the Goldfields area. He comfortably retained his seat during the 1917 state election. Additionally, in 1918, he completed a one-year tenure on the Perth City Council.
On 18 November 1920, Foley resigned from his seat in the Legislative Assembly to stand in the 1920 Kalgoorlie by-election, which had been called following the expulsion of Labor MP Hugh Mahon from the Federal House. Running as a Nationalist candidate, Foley defeated Mahon but lost his seat at the federal election in 1922. He later attempted to win the state seat of Kimberley in 1924 but was unsuccessful. After leaving politics, Foley worked as an auctioneer based in Perth before retiring to Kalgoorlie.
Foley passed away on 27 October 1945 at Mount Hawthorn in Perth and was interred at Karrakatta Cemetery. He did not have any children.