Background
He was born at Kadina, South Australia in 1876, son of Henry Kneebone of Cornwall and Elizabeth Ann (née Tonkin).
He was born at Kadina, South Australia in 1876, son of Henry Kneebone of Cornwall and Elizabeth Ann (née Tonkin).
He worked as a journalist for the Kadina and Wallaroo Times (whose editor was David Bews), then joined the gold rush to Western Australia, and joined the Coolgardie Miner as editor, which ceased publication around the end of 1909. He joined the Daily Herald, a Labor Party publication in Adelaide, in 1910 and was made editor in 1911. In 1912 he was appointed press officer to the High Commission in London where he performed useful service.
He founded the Anzac Buffet, which supplied more than a million free meals to Australian soldiers in London.
In 1916 he returned to Adelaide and editorship of the Daily Herald, which had fallen on hard times. He was unable to reverse its decline and the paper went into voluntary liquidation in 1924.
In 1924 he was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly but resigned the following year to contest (unsuccessfully) the House of Representatives seat of Boothby. In 1931 he was appointed to the Australian Senate as a Labor Senator for South Australia, filling the casual vacancy caused by the death of Country Party Senator John Chapman, but lost it in the election of later that year.
He returned to journalism, as the editor of The Labor Advocate, a Trades Hall publication.
Kneebone died in 1933. He showed great concern and affection for the Aboriginal peoples and was fascinated by their culture. Henry Kneebone (1876–1933) married Henrietta Whitta (1875 – 17 January 1951) on 4 November 1903.
They lived in Jellicoe Avenue, Kings Park.
Their children included:
Harry William Kneebone (since 1904) married Dorothy Hollow of Tusmore on 17 March 1928
Alfred Francis "Frank" Kneebone (since 1905) Frank was elected State Secretary of the Printers Union in 1951
(Elizabeth) Thelma Kneebone (since 1907) married Paul Mills of Unley Park on 29 June 1944
Ethelwyn "Wyn" Kneebone (since 1909) married Ern Dickason of Hawthorn ca.1945
Joan Adelaide Kneebone (since 1916) married Newton South. Tiver of Beachport ca.1944.
His death notice in The Advertiser mentioned his editorship of the Advocate but not his political career. His Methodist views influenced his social democratic politics.