Samuel Mauger

The Honourable
Samuel Mauger
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Melbourne Ports
In office
29 March 1901 – 12 December 1906
Preceded by New seat
Succeeded by James Mathews
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Maribyrnong
In office
12 December 1906 – 13 April 1910
Preceded by New seat
Succeeded by James Fenton
Personal details
Born (1857-11-12)12 November 1857
Geelong, Victoria
Died 26 June 1936(1936-06-26) (aged 78)
Elsternwick, Victoria
Nationality Australian
Political party Protectionist (1901–09)
Liberal (1909–10)
Spouse(s) Hanna Rice
Occupation Hat manufacturer
Religion Australian Church

Samuel Mauger (pronounced Major) (12 November 1857 – 26 June 1936)[1] was an Australian social reformer, hat manufacturing unionist and a Protectionist politician.

Early life

Mauger was born in Geelong, Victoria, son of immigrants from Guernsey, Channel Islands, Samuel Mauger Senior and Caroline née Liz[1] who migrated to Australia in the 1850s. Mauger junior was educated at the Geelong National School, but left school early to become an errand boy for a hat maker when his father contracted rheumatic fever.[1] Mauger later owned the hat manufacturing business. Mauger was a Bible class teacher at St Mark's Church of England in Fitzroy. He later became the Sunday-school superintendent at St Paul's Congregational Church in North Fitzroy. On 13 May 1880, Mauger married Hanna Rice who he had metat St Mark's; they eventually had four sons and four daughters.[1]

Career

Mauger held various memberships to various organisations. He was a superintendent in the Fire Brigades' Association of Victoria and four times president of the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Board.[1] Mauger was one of the founders and secretary of the Anti-Sweating League from 1895. Mauger was on the Board enquiry for unemployment in 1899 and involved in the royal commission of Victorian factories and shops law in 1900.

Being a devout Christian of the Australian Church, Mauger was president of the Young Men's Christian Association and president of the Melbourne Total Abstinence Society.

Mauger attempted to run for politics in various State electorates before becoming a Member of Parliament. He stood for the seat of Fitzroy in 1892, South Melbourne in 1896 and Portland in 1897. In 1899 he was a firefighter in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond.[2] In 1900, Mauger was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Footscray. He held the seat of Footscray until May 1901, where he resigned from State politics and ran for Federal politics. Mauger was the first member for Melbourne Ports in 1901 until his defeat to ALP candidate James Mathews in 1906. Mauger then soon elected to the new Federal seat of Maribyrnong and became the electorate's first Federal Member of Parliament. He was a Minister without a Portfolio from 1906 until 1907 and then Postmaster-General until 1908. Mauger lost his seat of Maribyrnong to ALP candidate James Fenton in 1910.

Mauger ran for the Victorian Senate in 1913 and 1914, but failed to get elected.[1][3] He was an ardent protectionist and was for some time honorary secretary of the protectionists' association of Victoria; he was for a time president of the Melbourne Total Abstinence Society, and chairman of the Indeterminate Sentences Board; and he presumably found some time for his business as a hatter and mercer. For about 50 years in every movement in Melbourne intended to better the conditions of the mass of the people, Mauger was to be found working incessantly and showing much organizing ability.

Legacy

In 1934 Mauger wrote a brochure on The Rise and Progress of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, Victoria, Australia, on page 29 some verses relating to the success of the staff fund illustrate his philosophy of life. Basically it was that if anything is brought forward for the good of humanity, difficulties will vanish if the problem is tackled with sufficient courage.[4] Mauger died in Elsternwick, Victoria and is buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery. At his funeral, he was given a fire guard honour.[1] Mauger was survived by his wife, two sons and four daughters.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 John Lack, 'Mauger, Samuel (1857–1936)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, MUP, 1986, pp 451–453. Retrieved 5 October 2009
  2. ↑ Birch, Adrian. "Samuel Mauger firefighter.". State Library of Victoria. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  3. ↑ Australian Federal Political Candidates (Surname beginning with letter "M")
  4. 1 2 Serle, Percival (1949). "Mauger, Samuel". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
John Hancock		 Member for Footscray
1900–1901 		Succeeded by
Jacob Fotheringham
Political offices
Preceded by
Austin Chapman		 Postmaster-General
1907–1908 		Succeeded by
Josiah Thomas
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by
New Seat		 Member for Melbourne Ports
1901–1906 		Succeeded by
James Mathews
Preceded by
New Seat		 Member for Maribyrnong
1906–1910 		Succeeded by
James Fenton
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