Henry Hoyle

Henry Hoyle
JP
Henry Clement Hoyle
Secretary for Mines
In office
31 October 1916 – 15 November 1916
PremierWilliam Holman
Preceded byJohn Estell
Succeeded byJohn Fitzpatrick
Minister for Labour and Industry
In office
31 October 1916 – 15 November 1916
PremierWilliam Holman
Preceded byJohn Estell
Succeeded byGeorge Beeby
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
for Surry Hills
In office
14 October 1910 – 21 February 1917
Preceded bySir James Graham
Succeeded byArthur Buckley
Personal details
Born(1852-11-20)20 November 1852
Millers Point, Colony of New South Wales
Died20 July 1926(1926-07-20) (aged 73)
Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyProtectionist (1891–1895)
National Federal (1898–1901)
Labor (1910–1916)
Nationalist (1917–)

Henry Clement Hoyle JP (20 November 1852 – 20 July 1926) was an Australian politician and rugby league football administrator of the 1890s and 1900s. A life member of the New South Wales Rugby League, Hoyle is credited with helping to craft the rhetoric justifying its successful 1908 split from the New South Wales Rugby Football Union.[1][2]

Early life

The son of a sea captain, Hoyle was born in Millers Point, New South Wales on 20 November 1852. He was educated at a Balmain convent school and Fort Street Public School. At age 10 he began his working life in Balmain with Booth's sawmills. He was apprenticed as a Blacksmith with P N Russell & Co,. then worked at Mort's Dock in 1868.[1]

Hoyle gained employment for the New South Wales Government Railways in 1876. While there he became a foreman and got married, setting up his house within the St Peter's, Surry Hills parish, of which he became a leading member.[3] Hoyle was active in an 1882 iron trade strike. He was a founding member of the Railway and Tramway Service Association of New South Wales, becoming its first president in 1885.[1]

In 1890 he was dismissed by the railways for his union activities. In 1891, as a member of the Protectionist Party, Hoyle was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the four-member seat of Redfern.[4][5] With the reduction of the size of the Legislative Assembly before the 1894 election, the Redfern electorate was reduced to being a single-member seat, and Hoyle was subsequently defeated by the Labour Party at that election.[6] After his electoral defeat he was employed to write for The Freeman's Journal, and stood again for the seat of Redfern as the Protectionist candidate at the 1895 election but was unsuccessful.[7] At the following election in 1898, Hoyle stood as the National Federal Party candidate for the seat of Sydney-Belmore, but was unsuccessful against the sitting Free Trade Party member, James Graham.[8]

New South Wales Rugby League

On 8 August 1907 at Bateman's Crystal Hotel, George Street, Hoyle chaired a meeting of fifty, comprising several leading rugby players and officials. The New South Wales Rugby Football League was founded and Hoyle was elected its first president.[9] Hoyle then went about making arrangements for a New South Wales representative rugby team to host New Zealand's like-minded All Golds touring side.

He then chaired meetings around Sydney at which he gave speeches to help attract players and clubs to the newly created league, ending up with nine. These nine teams signed with the NSWRFL played in Australia's first season of rugby league football, the 1908 NSWRFL season. The 1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was conducted during Hoyle's tenure with the NSWRFL as well. At the beginning of the 1909 NSWRFL season, the League, which was almost broke, met and kicked out its founders Hoyle, Victor Trumper and J J Giltinan.[10][11] Harry Hoyle was later awarded Life Membership of the New South Wales Rugby League in 1914.

Political career and later life

Hoyle joined the Labor Party before the 1910 election and became the member for the Surry Hills, defeating his former opponent James Graham.[12] He was commissioned as a Justice of the Peace in 1911 and was also a Trustee of Taronga Park from 1912 until 1926. In January 1914, he was appointed as an Honorary Minister in the cabinet, charged with the duties of Colonial Treasurer, an office held by the Premier, William Holman, but was often referred to as the "Assistant Treasurer". He was promoted to Secretary for Mines and Minister for Labour and Industry in October 1916.[1]

In November 1916 Labor split over conscription, when Premier Holman, and twenty of his supporters, including Hoyle were expelled from the party for defying party policy and supporting conscription.[13] Hoyle joined Holman's grand coalition with the members of the various conservative parties which became the Nationalist Party but was not retained in Holman's new Nationalist ministry.[1] He did not contest the 1917 election.

Hoyle died on 20 July 1926 in Vaucluse, New South Wales. He was buried at South Head Cemetery on 21 July 1926.[14][15][16] His wife Maria died two weeks later.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Mr Henry Clement Hoyle (1852-1926)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  2. ^ nma.gov.au. "The game begins". League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia. National Museum of Australia. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  3. ^ Garaty, Janice. "Judging a Man by his Deeds: Henry Clement Hoyle MLA and trade unionist". 2009 ACHS Conference. Australian Catholic Historical Society. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  4. ^ "The general election". The Daily Telegraph. 5 July 1894. p. 5. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via Trove.
  5. ^ Green, Antony. "1891 Redfern". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  6. ^ Green, Antony. "1894 Redfern". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  7. ^ Green, Antony. "1895 Redfern". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  8. ^ Green, Antony. "1898 Sydney Belmore". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  9. ^ Headon, David (2001). The best ever Australian sports writing: a 200 year collection. Australia: Black Inc. p. 316. ISBN 1-86395-266-7.
  10. ^ Heads, Ian. "Controversy" (PDF). League of Legends. National Museum of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Rugby League Split". National Advocate. 16 March 1909. p. 2. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via Trove.
  12. ^ Green, Antony. "1910 Surry Hills". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  13. ^ "PLL expulsions". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 November 1916. p. 7. Retrieved 7 May 2020 – via Trove.
  14. ^ "Mr Henry Hoyle". National Advocate. 21 July 1926. p. 3. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via Trove.
  15. ^ "Obituary". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 July 1926. p. 16. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via Trove.
  16. ^ "When Labor split over conscription". Evening News. 20 July 1926. p. 9. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via Trove.
  17. ^ "Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 4 August 1926. p. 9. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via Trove.

 

Parliament of New South Wales
Political offices
New office Minister without Portfolio
(Assisting the Treasurer)
1914–1916 		Vacant
Title next held by
William McKell
as Assistant Treasurer
Preceded by Secretary for Mines
1916 		Succeeded by
Minister for Labour and Industry
1916 		Succeeded by
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for Redfern
1891–1894
With: William Schey
William Sharp
James McGowen 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member for Surry Hills
1910–1917 		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
New title President of the
New South Wales Rugby Football League
1907–1909 		Succeeded by