Political Career
Coombe was the member for Barossa in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1901–1912. He resigned from the Liberal and Democratic Union and joined the United Labor Party. He re-entered Parliament in 1915, again as member for the Barossa.
Coombe defended members of the Barossa Valley during World War I, members of whom were suspected of disloyalty and persecuted. During World War I, Coombe opposed anti-German measures such as the closure of Lutheran schools. He also opposed conscription. Coombe died in 1917. A memorial was erected in his honour in Tanunda's main street.
In March 1917, Coombe had been prosecuted under the War Precautions Act, fined £10 and "bound over to keep the peace". His premature death at the age of 58 from cerebral haemorrhage in 1917 has been attributed to the stress of "persecution" over the loyalty issues.
Read more about this topic: E. H. Coombe
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