Background
Rosevear was born at Pyrmont, New South Wales to carter William John Rosevear and Maria, née McGuirk.
Rosevear was born at Pyrmont, New South Wales to carter William John Rosevear and Maria, née McGuirk.
He attended the local public school and worked in the timber industry. Involved in the timberworkers" strike of 1929, he was subsequently unemployed and completed relief work.
Rosevear was an Australian Labor Party official and organised Ted Theodore"s campaign in 1929. After the 1931 Labor split, however, Rosevear joined the Language Labor breakaway and defeated Theodore in his seat of Dalley in the election of that year. He sat in the House of Representatives under the leadership of Jack Beasley until 1936, when the two factions reunited.
Following the second split of 1940, Rosevear was deputy-leader of the Australian Labor Party (Non-Communist).
In 1941, John Curtin reunited the Labor Party and Rosevear rejoined the ALP. He was disappointed not to receive a cabinet post, but was appointed Speaker of the House of Representatives on 22 June 1943. He gained a reputation as an inflexible Speaker, accused by the media and the Opposition of partisanship.
Journalist East.H. Cox claimed that he was "frequently drunk in the Chair". Rosevear also permitted illegal gambling in the Chamber, and participated himself.
In the 1949 election the Chifley government was defeated by the Liberal/Country Party coalition led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies and Rosevear lost the Speakership.
He continued to sit in the House until his death of coronary occlusion on 21 March 1953.
Rosevear continued to be influential in caucus, and it was rumoured that he hoped to succeed Ben Chifley as party leader, but his "taste for grog" was seen as a disqualification by some.
