Frederick Arthur Baglin (18 May 1872 – 23 May 1966) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1920 to 1923, representing West Province. He resigned his seat after being charged with theft, and subsequently served time in prison.

Frederick Baglin
Member of the Legislative Council
of Western Australia
In office
22 May 1920 – 13 August 1923
Preceded byJoseph Allen
Succeeded byEdmund Gray
ConstituencyWest Province
Personal details
Born18 May 1872
Moutajup, Victoria, Australia
Died23 May 1966
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Political partyLabor

Early life

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Baglin was born in Moutajup, Victoria (near Hamilton), to Caroline (née Walter) and Samuel Baglin. He is first recorded as living in Western Australia, where he married Jean Scott in 1900, when he was a resident of Paddington (on the Eastern Goldfields) and worked as a Western Australian Government Railways contractor. Baglin later worked for periods farming near Southern Cross and as a butcher in Kalgoorlie (where his eldest daughter (Dorothy Jean) was born).[1] He was elected to the Kalgoorlie Roads Board in 1912, but was unable to take his place due to a technicality.[2] In 1915, Baglin moved to Fremantle, where was elected secretary of the local trades hall two years later.[1]

Politics

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In 1916, Baglin was preselected as the Labor candidate for the Legislative Council's West Province. He was defeated by only 15 votes, despite his Liberal opponent, Sir Henry Briggs, being the sitting President of the Legislative Council.[3] At the 1918 Legislative Council election, Baglin repeated his candidacy, running against another sitting member, the Nationalist Party's Robert Lynn. He was defeated a second time, losing with 48.3 percent of the vote,[4] but succeeded on his third attempt, defeating Joseph Allen at the 1920 election.[1]

Criminal charges and later life

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In July 1923, Baglin was arrested and charged with three offences of stealing as a servant, the most serious of which was the theft of 414.10s.6d. from the ALP Fremantle District Council (his former employer).[5] He pled guilty the following month to that charge (with the other two similar charges being dropped), and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment with hard labour.[6] Little is known of Baglin's activities after his release from prison, including his date of death.[1] He is known to have been living in Queensland in 1952 (aged 80), when he was the victim of a criminal assault.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Frederick Arthur Baglin – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  2. ^ "KALGOORLIE ROADS BOARD.", The Sun (Kalgoorlie), 9 March 1913.
  3. ^ "WEST PROVINCE.", The Western Mail, 26 May 1916.
  4. ^ "WEST PROVINCE.", The Western Mail, 17 May 1918.
  5. ^ "LABOUR SENSATION.", The West Australian, 20 July 1923.
  6. ^ "TRADES HALL FUNDS STOLEN BY SECRETARY", The Daily News, 15 August 1923.
  7. ^ "MAN'S EAR WAS 'HANGING DOWN LIKE BANANA SKIN … …'", Truth (Brisbane), 31 August 1952.