Harry Kneebone

Who was Harry Kneebone?

Henry "Harry" Kneebone was an Australian journalist, author, editor and politician.

He was born at Kadina, South Australia in 1876, son of Henry Kneebone of Cornwall and Elizabeth Ann. He worked as a journalist for the Kadina and Wallaroo Times, then joined the gold rush to Western Australia, and joined the Coolgardie Times as editor. He joined the Daily Herald, a Labor Party publication in Adelaide, in 1910 and was made editor in 1911. In 1912 he was appointed press officer to the High Commission in London where he performed useful service. In 1916 he returned to Adelaide and editorship of the Daily Herald, which had fallen on hard times. He was unable to reverse its decline and the paper went into voluntary liquidation in 1924.

In 1924 he was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly but resigned the following year to contest the House of Representatives seat of Boothby. In 1931 he was appointed to the Australian Senate as a Labor Senator for South Australia, filling the casual vacancy caused by the death of Country Party Senator John Chapman, but lost it in the election of later that year..