Stan Amour

Stanley Kerin Amour (2 April 1900 – 29 November 1979) was an Australian politician. Born in Hamilton, New South Wales, he was educated at Catholic schools before becoming an insurance agent. He served in the military from 1915 to 1917. In 1937, he was elected to the Australian Senate as a Labor Senator for New South Wales. He was selected largely because his surname began with A, as did the other three candidates, Bill Ashley, John Armstrong and Tom Arthur. After leaving the ALP briefly for the Langite Australian Labor Party (Non-Communist), Amour served in the Senate for over 20 years, retiring in 1965. He died in 1979.

Early life Amour was born on 2 April 1900 in Newcastle, New South Wales. He was the son of Elizabeth (née Thompson) and Richard John Amour. His father was a signalman with New South Wales Government Railways.

Amour spent part of his childhood in Murrurundi and attended the Sacred Heart School in Hamilton. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in August 1915, aged 15, lying about his age to do so. He saw active service with the 18th Battalion on the Western Front and was badly wounded in June 1916, after which he was evacuated to England. Amour was invalided back to Australia in May 1917 and discharged as medically unfit in August 1917. His injuries rendered him unable to speak for a period and he retained shrapnel in his back for several years.

Politics

Early involvement Amour joined the ALP's Leichhardt branch in 1927. He was later secretary and president of the South Bankstown branch and a state conference delegate. He served as an alderman on the Bankstown Municipal Council from 1932 to 1944. In September 1947, following their return, Country Party MP Joe Abbott alleged under parliamentary privilege that Amour had been removed by American police from a plane in San Francisco after drunkenly kicking a fellow passenger and attempting to punch the pilot. Amour denied the allegations and stated that Abbott had misused parliamentary privilege, also criticising what he described as "journalistic sadists" who had spread the story. Abbott subsequently submitted testimony from the flight's passengers to the House of Representatives and challenged Prime Minister Ben Chifley to hold an inquiry into the allegations.

Amour made his last parliamentary speech in 1959 and suffered from ill health during his final years in the Senate, although he rarely missed votes. He ultimately announced his retirement due to ill health in 1964, with his term expiring on 30 June 1965.

Personal life Amour married Jessie Eileen Jones in 1918, with whom he had five children. He was 18 years old at the time of their wedding and lied about his age on the marriage certificate. They married in Armidale but later returned to Sydney, living in Leichhardt for a period before settling in a war service home in Padstow in 1929.

Amour died on 29 November 1979 at the Concord Repatriation General Hospital.