Mark Gosling

Mark Gosling (7 August 1886 – 3 May 1980) was an English Australian painter, building contractor and Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the districts of St George (1920–1927), Oatley (1927–1930) and Kogarah (1930–1932). He served as Colonial Secretary of New South Wales from May to October 1927 and again from November 1930 to May 1932.

Biography The son of labourer Samuel Gosling and Hannah Nelms, Mark Gosling was born on 7 August 1886 in Birmingham, England. In 1913 he married Florence Thorneycroft, daughter of William Joseph Thorneycroft and Esther Morgan of Warwickshire and Staffordshire, England, and they had three sons, Ronald, Derek and Robert.

He received only a primary education, but would later attend tutorials at the University of Sydney from 1916 to 1919. In 1927, the district of St George was divided into single member districts, with Gosling winning the new district of Oatley by a margin of 3.2 per cent over James Webb. In 1930, Oatley itself was abolished and replaced with the district of Kogarah, which Gosling won again over Humphrey Earl, but lost to James Ross in 1932. Mark Gosling was active in the Australian Labor Party throughout his career, serving as president of the party's Petersham and Homedale leagues and of the Barton federal electorate council. In 1915 and 1916, he was the president of the district and Petersham campaigns against conscription, and he was a member of the party's executive from 1938 to 1939.