Carl Adrian Akhurst JP (14 June 1886 – 8 September 1953) was an Australian accountant, secretary and politician who served as a Member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales from 1925 to 1934.
After moving from Darlinghurst to a residence at 5 Bray Street, North Sydney and later Naremburn, Akhurst became secretary of the St Leonards and Willoughby ALP Branches.
[3] Akhurst then joined wine and spirit merchants Westphal and Clarke, was a tally clerk on the Sydney wharves, became share registrar of the Primary Producers Bank of Australia, and was appointed a Fellow of the Institute of Incorporated Secretaries (FIIS).
[5] When the conservative Nationalist/Progressive coalition government of Sir George Fuller, was defeated at the May 1925 NSW state election by the Labor Party under Jack Lang, the new Labor Government only held a single seat majority in the Legislative Assembly and only a handful of members in the upper Legislative Council.
With the Legislative Council comprising members appointed by the Governor for life terms, it had long been seen by Lang and the Labor Party as an outdated bastion of conservative privilege holding back their reform agenda.
[12][13] Akhurst later explained that his absence was an unfortunate accident, having been called away on business at dinner, and arrived back at Parliament too late, after the doors had closed to the chamber for the division vote.
My association with the Labor movement extends over a period of 21 years, and I challenge Mr. Lang to point to one instance where I have violated my pledge or broken my word".
[17] Having been employed with the Primary Producers Bank of Australia since the 1920s, Akhurst undertook several tours of rural New South Wales to inspect agricultural conditions, including Bourke, Moree, Gilgandra, Collie, Warren, Nevertire, Trangie and Narromine.
[41] In retirement, Akhurst lived in Rockdale, at 317 Princes Highway, where he died at the age of 67 in September 1953, survived by his third wife and three children.