Arthur Jones

Arthur Jones (12 June 1892 – 30 June 1976) was a shearer and member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. He was born at Lower Barnes, near Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England.

Early days Murphy was born at Worcestershire, England, to Thomas Jones and his wife Mary Anne (née Nutting) and was educated in Wolverley. As a child he moved to Canada but returned to England. He then travelled alone to Australia arriving in March 1911 where he became a "gun" shearer in the Hunter Valley and in January 1916 arrived in Queensland. In 1924–25 he demonstrated his shearing abilities at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in England and he was able to shear 200 sheep in an eight-hour day. He went on to hold the seat for 21 years and during that time he held five different titles. He was Secretary for Mines in 1942, Secretary for Public Instruction 1942–44, Secretary for Public Lands 1944–47, Secretary for Health and Home Affairs 1947–50 and Secretary for Labour and Industry 1950–57. When the Labor Party split in 1957 Jones joined Premier Vince Gair in forming the Queensland Labor Party.