Reginald Blundell

Who was Reginald Blundell?

Reginald Pole Blundell was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1907 to 1918 and the Australian House of Representatives from 1919 to 1922.

Blundell was born in the Adelaide suburb of Norwood and educated at Norwood Public School. He married Alice Clara Gates in 1894. He joined the Tobacco Twisters' Union and was its secretary for eight years. He became secretary of the United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia and was its president in 1905.

Blundell was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Adelaide at a by-election in 1907, representing the Australian Labor Party. On the election of Crawford Vaughan's government in 1915, he became minister of industry, mines and marine. In 1917, he left the Labor Party due to the split over conscription and joined the National Labor Party and was minister for repatriation, agriculture and industry in Archibald Peake's government until his defeat at the 1918 election. At the 1919 election, he was elected as a Nationalist to the federal seat of Adelaide, but was defeated at the 1922 election.

Blundell returned to work for W.D. & H.O. Wills as a commercial traveller. He died of pernicious anaemia in the Adelaide suburb of Glenelg survived by his wife, three daughters and three sons.