Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content
MENU
Skip Navigation LinksHome Members

Member Details

Mr Percival Stanley BROOKFIELD (1875 - 1921)

Member Photo
Date of Birth: 07/08/1875
Place of Birth: Wavertree, Lancashire, England
Date of Death: 22/03/1921
Place of Death: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
Member for Sturt 20 Mar 1920 22 Mar 1921 1 year 3 days
Member for Sturt 24 Mar 1917 18 Feb 1920 2 years 10 months 26 days
Member for Sturt 03 Feb 1917 21 Feb 1917 19 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 03 Feb 1917 22 Mar 1921 4 years 1 month 20 days
Political Party Activity
Australian Labor Party (ALP); resigned July 1919. Industrial Socialist labor Party
Community Activity
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Miner and prospector. At an early age he went to sea, spending a short time in Argentina and (contrary to an early story which stated he deserted his ship) was discharged from the 'Godiva' on 27 November 1894 in Melbourne. The Discharge Certificate from the Port of Melbourne stated that his Character for Conduct was very Good and his Character for Ability was also Very Good. From 1894 he prospected and was an underground miner in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. From about 1910 he settled in Broken Hill as a miner. A member of the Miner's Union; chairman of the 1916 Broken Hill Strike Committee; president of Broken Hill Labor Volunteer Army. He campaigned against conscription and was repeatedly fined. He was imprisoned in December 1916 for his refusal to pay fines. On 22 March 1921 he was fatally wounded attempting to disarm a man shooting station staff and passengers at Riverton in South Australia. His funeral was on 25 March 1921.
Military Service
Honours Received
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Personal
Son of Cuthbert Brookfield, grocer, and his wife Jane Peers. Unmarried. Buried in Broken Hill cemetery from Trades Hall.
Additional Information
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7. 'Labor's Titan: the story of Percy Brookfield 1875 - 1921', by Gilbert Giles Roper, edited by Wendy and Alan Scarf (Warnambool Institute Press, 1983) Paul Robert Adams, Best Hated Man in Australia: The Life and Death of Percy Brookfield 1875 - 1921, Puncher and Wattman, 2010

The Parliament of New South Wales acknowledges and respects the traditional lands of all Aboriginal people, and pays respects to all Elders past and present. We acknowledge the Gadigal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which the Parliament of New South Wales stands.