Editing Michael Joseph Savage (section)

== Early life ==
Born as Michael Savage in [[Tatong]], Victoria, Australia, he was the youngest of eight children of Irish immigrant parents. His father, Richard Savage, was a native of [[Dundrum, County Down]] and his mother Johanna Savage (née Hayes) was from [[Limerick]]. Both migrated to Australia in the 1850s to escape the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Irish Famine]]. He received a Roman Catholic upbringing from his sister Rose, after his mother died when he was aged five. He spent five years attending a state school at Rothesay, the same town as his father's farm. From 1886, aged 14, to 1893 Savage worked at a wine and spirits shop in Benalla.{{sfn|Hobbs|1967|pp=32}} Savage also attended evening classes at Benalla College at this time. Although short in stature, Savage had enormous physical strength and made a name as both a boxer and weightlifter while enjoying dancing and many other sports.

In 1891 Savage was devastated by the deaths of both his sister Rose and his closest brother Joe. He adopted Joe's name and became known as Michael Joseph Savage from then on. After losing his job in 1893, Savage moved to [[New South Wales]], finding work as a labourer and irrigation ditch-digger in [[Narrandera]] for seven years. Whilst there, he joined the General Labourers' Union and became familiar with the radical political theories of the Americans [[Henry George]] and [[Edward Bellamy]], who influenced his political policies in later life.<ref name="DNZB Savage">{{DNZB|Gustafson|Barry|4S9|Savage, Michael Joseph – Biography|11 December 2011||Barry Gustafson}}</ref>

Savage moved back to Victoria in 1900, working a number of jobs. He became active in the [[Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)|Political Labor Council of Victoria]], and in [[1907 Victorian state election|1907]] he was chosen as the PLC's candidate to stand for the [[Electoral district of Wangaratta|Wangaratta electorate]]. Savage had to pull out after the party was not able to fund his deposit and campaign costs, and John Thomas stood instead.<ref name="DNZB Savage" /><ref name="Rutherglen farewell" /><ref>{{cite news|title=North-Eastern Ensign|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70758344|access-date=26 June 2015|work=[[Benalla Ensign]]|date=22 March 1907|page=2}}</ref> He remained an active party member and became a close friend of PLC member [[Paddy Webb]], with whom he was closely linked in later years.<ref name="DNZB Savage" />