# Albert Monk

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{{short description|Australian trade unionist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Multiple issues|{{more citations needed|date=December 2017}}{{primary sources|date=December 2017}}}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Albert Monk
| honorific_suffix    = [CMG](/source/Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George)
| image               = AEMonk1960.jpg
| office1             = 2nd [President of the ACTU](/source/Australian_Council_of_Trade_Unions)
| term_start1         = 1934
| term_end1           = 1943
| term_start2         = 1949
| term_end2           = 1969
| predecessor1        = [Billy Duggan](/source/Billy_Duggan)
| successor1          = [Percy Clarey](/source/Percy_Clarey)
| predecessor2        = [Percy Clarey](/source/Percy_Clarey)
| successor2          = [Bob Hawke](/source/Bob_Hawke)
| office3             = 2nd [Secretary of the ACTU](/source/Australian_Council_of_Trade_Unions)
| term_start3         = 1943
| term_end3           = 1949
| predecessor3        = [Charlie Crofts](/source/Charlie_Crofts)
| successor3          = [Reg Broadby](/source/Reg_Broadby)
| birth_name           = Albert Ernest Monk
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|df=y|1900|9|16}}
| birth_place         = [Waltham Abbey](/source/Waltham_Abbey), [Essex](/source/Essex), England
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=y|1975|2|11|1900|9|16}}
| death_place         = [Fitzroy, Victoria](/source/Fitzroy%2C_Victoria), [Australia](/source/Australia)
| profession          = [Trade union](/source/Trade_union)ist
}}
'''Albert Ernest Monk''' [CMG](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George) (16 September 1900 – 11 February 1975) was an Australian trade unionist. He served as both President and Secretary of the [Australian Council of Trade Unions](/source/Australian_Council_of_Trade_Unions) (ACTU) for a total of 35 years; first as President from 1934 to 1943, then Secretary from 1943 to 1949, and then President again from 1949 to 1969.

==Early life==
Monk was born on 16 September 1900 in [Waltham Abbey](/source/Waltham_Abbey), [Essex](/source/Essex), England. He was the son of Ada Kate (née Dennis) and Ernest George Monk.<ref name=adb>{{cite news|url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/monk-albert-ernest-11148|title=Albert Ernest Monk (1900–1975)|first=Peter|last=Love|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography|volume=15|year=2000}}</ref>

Monk and his family emigrated to Australia in about 1910, where his father – a munitions expert – worked at the [Maribyrnong Cordite Factory](/source/Defence_Explosive_Factory_Maribyrnong). He attended a state school in [Moonee Ponds](/source/Moonee_Ponds) and later attended a business college where he learned [shorthand](/source/shorthand). After completing his education he worked as a clerk for the [Carters' and Drivers' Union](/source/Transport_Workers'_Union_of_Australia).<ref name=adb/>

==Labour movement==
Monk began working for the [Melbourne Trades Hall Council](/source/Melbourne_Trades_Hall_Council) in 1924 and was promoted to assistant secretary in 1929. He was also secretary to the Conference of Federated Unions and was the minute secretary at the All-Australian Trade Union Congress in 1927, which resulted in the establishment of the Australasian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). During the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression_in_Australia) he served as secretary of the Central Unemployment Committee and was appointed to the Victorian government's Unemployment Relief Works Board and the Victorian State Relief Committee (a government-funded [food bank](/source/food_bank)).<ref name=adb/> 

===ACTU===
In 1934, following [Billy Duggan](/source/Billy_Duggan)'s death, Monk succeeded as secretary of the Trades Hall Council and president of the ACTU, then a part-time position.<ref name=adb/>

==Personal life==
Monk married Frances Fealy in 1943.<ref name=adb/> In 1966 he was appointed a [Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George).<ref>{{cite web| url = https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1066309| title = It's an Honour}}. Retrieved 19 March 2018</ref> He retired to Moonee Ponds and died in [Fitzroy](/source/Fitzroy%2C_Victoria) on 11 February 1975, aged 74.<ref name=adb/>

Writer [Blanche d'Alpuget](/source/Blanche_d'Alpuget) had intended to write a biography of Monk but was refused permission by Monk's widow, as she did not want the public to know that she was Monk's second wife.

D'Alpuget instead wrote a biography of Monk's successor as ACTU President and future Prime Minister [Bob Hawke](/source/Bob_Hawke), whom she married in 1995.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/bob-and-blanche-an-affair-for-the-ages/news-story/eeaf8073ea6f92a2a35ac310828df51f| title = Reference at www.theaustralian.com.au}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-npo|union}}
{{s-bef | before=[Billy Duggan](/source/Billy_Duggan)}}
{{s-ttl | title=President of the [Australian Council of Trade Unions](/source/Australian_Council_of_Trade_Unions) | years=1934&ndash;1943}}
{{s-aft | after=[Percy Clarey](/source/Percy_Clarey)}}
{{s-bef | before=[Charlie Crofts](/source/Charlie_Crofts)}}
{{s-ttl | title=Secretary of the [Australian Council of Trade Unions](/source/Australian_Council_of_Trade_Unions) | years=1943&ndash;1949}}
{{s-aft | after=[Reg Broadby](/source/Reg_Broadby)}}
{{s-bef | before=[Percy Clarey](/source/Percy_Clarey)}}
{{s-ttl | title=President of the [Australian Council of Trade Unions](/source/Australian_Council_of_Trade_Unions) | years=1949&ndash;1969}}
{{s-aft | after=[Bob Hawke](/source/Bob_Hawke)}}
{{s-end}}

{{ACTU Presidents}}
{{ACTU Secretaries}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monk, Albert}}
Category:1900 births
Category:1975 deaths
Category:Australian Council of Trade Unions people
Category:English emigrants to Australia
Category:People from Waltham Abbey, Essex
Category:Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Category:20th-century Australian trade unionists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Albert Monk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Monk) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Monk?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.