Andrew Lacey

Who was Andrew Lacey?

Andrew William Lacey was both a member of the Australian House of Representatives and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of South Australia.

Of Irish Protestant heritage, Lacey was born in Terowie, South Australia to labourer George Lacey and his wife Mary Ellen, attended the local public school and became one of the area's leading sprinters before commencing work in the Port Pirie smelters.

Following his marriage to Helene Clara Welke on 13 October 1908, Lacey became increasingly involved in the trade union movement and was employed as the Australian Workers' Union organiser at the smelter from 1916-22. His high profile in the smelters led to his election to Port Pirie Municipal Council in 1920, a position he held until 1922 when he successfully stood as the Australian Labor Party candidate for the Federal Division of Grey against the incumbent Alexander Poynton, a former Labor member who left the party over conscription in World War I.

As a member of the opposition, Lacey was appointed in 1924 to the select committee investigating the operation of the Navigation Act, and served as a member of the Public Works Committee from 1925. Following the ALP victory at the 1929 election, Lacey was made Chair of the Public Works Committee.