Donald Macdonell (Australian politician)

Donald Macdonell (1862 – 26 October 1911) was a politician, trade unionist and shearer in New South Wales, Australia.

Born at Stuart Mill near St Arnaud, Victoria, to Christina née McMaster and Alexander Macdonell, a Scottish-born farmer and shearer. He helped on his father's farm as a child and moved to New South Wales in 1886, being an early member of the Australian Shearers' Union. He played a leading role in the 1891 strike, when he traveled to Queensland.^[1] He became secretary of the Shearers' Union's Bourke branch and a member of the Labor Party in 1894, and helped to draft the rules for the new Australian Workers' Union. In the same year the shearers' and labourers' unions amalgamated . He continued as secretary of the AWU's Bourke branch thereafter. He was thr general secretary of the AWU from 1900 to 1911.^[1]

In 1901 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the Labor member for Cobar, serving until 1911.^[2] He was Minister for Agriculture and Chief Secretary in the McGowen ministry from 1910 to 1911.^[3] He had been absent from the parliament from 1 March 1911 due to illness but was expected to recover when a political crisis caused by the resignation of 2 Labor members resulted in the parliament being prorogued and he was automatically expelled for non-attendance during an entire session. He was re-elected unopposed in the Cobar by-election on 7 October,^[2] but died three weeks later.^[3]

Macdonell died in Melbourne on 26 October 1911(1911-10-26) (aged 48–49) and was buried at Stuart Mill.^[3]

He was a friend of Henry Lawson who, in 1899, described Macdonell as "the tallest, straightest, and perhaps the best of the Bourke-side bush-leaders".^[1]