Arthur Manning

Who was Arthur Manning?

Arthur Gibson Manning was an Australian politician who served in both the Australian House of Representatives and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.

Born to pastroralists Frederick and Jane Belle Manning in Wagga Wagga, Manning was educated in public schools in Wagga and Yass before purchasing grazing land in Narrabri and West Wyalong and marrying Florence Hogarth in 1899; they had no children. He became a vocal proponent for the rights of farmers and served as President of the Australian Meat Council and on the boards of the Farmers and Settlers' Association and the Graziers' Association. Manning then gained Nationalist Party of Australia pre-selection for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Electoral district of Albury, which he won at the 1917 election. Defeated at the 1920 election, Manning remained involved in the Nationalist Party and rural affairs and was chosen as the Nationalist candidate for the federal Division of Macquarie for the 1922 election. Manning was victorious, narrowly defeating sitting Australian Labor Party representative Samuel Nicholls by less than 100 votes after preferences from an independent were distributed.