# Laurie Short

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{{Short description|Australian trade unionist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2015}}
'''Laurence Elwyn Short''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AO|OBE}} (15 December 1915 – 24 March 2009) was an Australian [trade union](/source/trade_union) leader and leading figure in the [Australian Labor Party](/source/Australian_Labor_Party) (ALP). Short was the national secretary of the [Federated Ironworkers' Association](/source/Federated_Ironworkers'_Association) (FIA), now part of the [Australian Workers' Union](/source/Australian_Workers'_Union), from 1951 to 1982.<ref name="TheAustralian">{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25239802-12377,00.html|title=Union icon Laurie Short dies|date=25 March 2009|work=The Australian|accessdate=2009-03-25}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

==Biography==
thumb|Short in his office, circa 1953.
Short at first supported the idea of communism in Australia, but then rejected communism and then was an important anti-communist union leader.<ref name="TheAge">{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/unionist-kept-labor-intact-20090325-9aje.html?page=-1|last=Howes|first=Paul|title=Unionist kept Labor intact|date=26 March 2009|work=The Age|accessdate=2012-07-18}}</ref> Short ran against [Ernest "Ernie" Thornton](/source/Ernie_Thornton), a member of the [Communist Party of Australia](/source/Communist_Party_of_Australia), in the 1949 FIA elections — Thornton at first claimed victory, but later his election was ruled invalid, and Short declared the winner.<ref>{{Cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |first=Robert |last=Murray |title=Ernest Thornton (1907–1969) |id2=thornton-ernest-11854 |year=2002 |volume=16 |access-date=30 August 2025}}</ref> Short was a non-Catholic ally of [B. A. Santamaria](/source/B._A._Santamaria)'s Catholic Social Studies Movement,<ref>{{Cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |id2=ross-lloyd-robert-maxwell-15927 |title=Lloyd Robert Maxwell Ross (1901–1987) |first=Michael |last=Easson |year=2012 |volume=18 |access-date=30 August 2025}}</ref> but was seen as playing a key role in preventing the [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales) branch of the ALP from splitting along [sectarian](/source/sectarian) lines in the  [Australian Labor Party split of 1955](/source/Australian_Labor_Party_split_of_1955).<ref name="TheAustralian" />

==Honours ==
He was made an Officer of the [Order of the British Empire](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire) (OBE) in 1971<ref>{{cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1109692|title=SHORT, Laurence Edwin (OBE)|work=It's An Honour|publisher=Australian Government|accessdate=2009-03-25}}</ref> by [John Gorton](/source/John_Gorton)'s Liberal-Country Party Government, and this was followed in 1980 by his appointment as an Officer of the [Order of Australia](/source/Order_of_Australia) (AO)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/881855|title=SHORT, Laurence Edwin (AO)|work=It's An Honour|publisher=Australian Government|accessdate=2009-03-25}}</ref> by [Malcolm Fraser](/source/Malcolm_Fraser).

==Personal life ==
He married artist [Nancy Borlase](/source/Nancy_Borlase) in 1941 and was father to journalist [Susanna Short](/source/Susanna_Short).<ref name="TheAustralian" /><ref name="Brown">{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-wife-and-mother/2009/03/17/1237054815915.html|title=Portrait of the artist as a wife and mother|last=Brown|first=Malcolm|date=18 March 2009|work=The Age|accessdate=2009-03-25}}</ref> Nancy died in 2002.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=Short|first=Susanna|title=Laurie Short: A Political Life|date=1992|publisher=Allen & Unwin|location=Sydney|isbn=1-86373-188-1}} 
See also summary at [http://members.optushome.com.au/spainter/Shortsummary.html]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Laurie}}
Category:1915 births
Category:2009 deaths
Category:Australian trade unionists
Category:Officers of the Order of Australia
Category:Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire

{{Australia-bio-stub}}

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