Arthur Calwell - Early Life

Early Life

Calwell was born in Melbourne. His father was a police officer of Irish descent, and both father and son were active in Melbourne's Irish community (including membership of the Celtic Club). His mother was of Irish-American descent. A gifted high school student, Calwell was a devout Roman Catholic and joined the Australian Labor Party in his youth. Lacking the financial resources to pursue a university education, Calwell read very widely, acquired substantial skill in speaking to audiences, and became a clerk in the Victorian Public Service, in which he worked for the Department of Agriculture and the State Treasury. From 1927 to 1931 he served as President of the Victorian branch of the Australian Public Sector Association (the union representing himself and his colleagues).

Calwell's first marriage was to Margaret Mary Murphy in 1921. She died in 1922, and ten years later, on 29 August 1932, he married Elizabeth (Bessie) Marren, a strong-willed, intelligent and well-read Irishwoman who was social editor of the Catholic weekly newspaper, the Tribune. In 1933 they launched the Irish Review as the official organ of the Victorian Irish Association. Calwell had met Elizabeth at Irish language classes run by the Gaelic League in Melbourne, and retained an interest in and fluency in the language.