James Jelley (18 October 1873 – 4 March 1954) was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was a Labor member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1912 to 1933, representing Central District (1912-1915) and Central District No. 1 (1915-1933).
He served as Chief Secretary in three Labor governments: John Gunn (1924-1926) and Lionel Hill (1926-1927 and 1930). He was also Minister for Railways under Gunn (1924-1925), and Minister of Marine (1930), Minister of Local Government, Minister of Immigration, Minister of Repatriation and Minister of Immigration under Hill (1930-1933).[1]
He was one of the members of the Hill cabinet expelled in the 1931 Labor split, continuing in minority government as part of the splinter Parliamentary Labor Party, but retired in protest in 1933 following Hill's decision to appoint himself Agent-General in London. He was the younger brother of Labor MLC David Jelley.
- ^ "Statistical Record of the Legislature, 1836-2009" (PDF). Parliament of South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2016.