Frederick McDonald facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frederick McDonald
Member of the Australian Parliament for Barton
In office 16 December 1922 – 14 November 1925
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	Thomas Ley
Personal details
Born	7 December 1872 Grafton, New South Wales, Australia
Died	15 April 1926 (disappeared)
Nationality	British subject (Australian)
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Profession	Teacher

Frederick Albert McDonald (born 7 December 1872, disappeared April 1926) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Labor Party. He represented the area of Barton in the Australian House of Representatives from 1922 to 1925.

In 1925, he lost his seat by a small number of votes to Thomas Ley from the Nationalist Party. McDonald was challenging this election result in court when he mysteriously disappeared in 1926. Many people suspect that Ley was involved in McDonald's disappearance. Ley later faced serious issues and was suspected in other mysterious deaths.

Early Life and Career

Frederick McDonald was born in Grafton, New South Wales. He went to the Sydney Teachers' College and the University of Sydney. After his studies, he became a teacher. He taught at Hurstville Superior Public School for 13 years.

McDonald was very active in teacher organizations. He was president of the New South Wales Teachers Federation. He also helped to create this important group. He was known for helping teachers get better access to the Industrial Court.

McDonald was also involved in politics from a young age. He was president of his local Labor Party branch. He also led the Labor Party's council for the Lang area. In 1920, he ran for state election but lost by a small margin.

In the 1922 federal election, McDonald ran for the new seat of Barton. He won against Hector Lamond, who was a Nationalist Party member. In 1924, McDonald married Mrs. I. B. Burnett in Melbourne.

Political Challenges

McDonald faced a very tough election in 1925. He was running for re-election against Thomas Ley. Ley was a Nationalist candidate and a former state minister. During the election campaign, Ley accused McDonald of having links to communists.

The day before the election, McDonald claimed that Ley had tried to bribe him. He said Ley offered him money not to run for the Barton seat again. Ley strongly denied these claims. On election day, Ley sued McDonald for a large sum of money for damaging his reputation.

Ley won the election by 1,090 votes. McDonald accepted his defeat. He said that the Labor movement was guided by its heart, not its head. He believed a different outcome would have happened if it had been guided by its head.

Mysterious Disappearance

In January 1926, McDonald challenged the election result in court. He based his challenge on the bribery claims. In March 1926, it was reported that McDonald and Ley had agreed to settle their legal issues. McDonald was supposed to apologize for his claims. Both planned to drop their lawsuits.

However, it is believed that McDonald later changed his mind. He reportedly felt bad and refused to withdraw his court challenge.

On 15 April 1926, McDonald disappeared. He was on his way to meet with New South Wales Premier Jack Lang. They were going to discuss making the election result invalid. His wife last saw him at 2:30 PM outside Challis House in Martin Place. He never arrived at his meeting.

McDonald's court case had not been officially withdrawn. When the case went to court on 23 April, his lawyer said he knew nothing about the settlement. The lawyer asked for a delay, hoping McDonald would be found. However, the case was closed because of the earlier agreement. Despite a wide search, McDonald and his briefcase were never found.

Initial reports suggested McDonald was having "nervous trouble" when he disappeared. Later, Thomas Ley was found to be mentally unwell after a serious event in England. He was sent to a special hospital. Many now suspect Ley was involved in McDonald's disappearance. Ley was also suspected in other mysterious deaths of people he knew.

See also

• List of people who disappeared