Archibald Crofts

Archibald Crofts (9 September 1875 – 20 May 1942) was an Australian politician.
He was born in Secunderabad in India to soldier Benjamin Crofts and Jane Hemhilswood. A grew up in Victoria and was educated in Adelaide, before becoming a merchant. In 1899 he married Mary Keene, with whom he had four children. From 1905 he owned and ran a grocery in South Melbourne, which he expanded to include 137 branches throughout Victoria as Crofts Stores. He served on South Melbourne City Council from 1931 to 1942 and was mayor from 1934 to 1935. In 1935 he won a by-election for Melbourne South Province in the Victorian Legislative Council, representing the United Australia Party; he transferred to the new Monash Province in 1937. He remained in the Council until his death in Surfers Paradise in 1942.