Dr Sam Merrifield, labour historian, was born in Moonee Ponds, Victoria on 6 February 1904. He joined the Australian Labor Party(ALP) in 1922 and was an active member. He worked as a surveyor for several Victorian government departments and was Commissioner of Public Works and President of the Board of Land and Works, 1952-1955. He entered the Victorian Parliament in 1943 as ALP MLA for Essendon, then to the seat of Moonee Ponds in 1945, lost his seat in 1955, and served as an ALP MLC for Doutta Galla, 1958-1970. He was involved in many community organisations and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by Monash University in 1973. Merrifield was a founding member of the Melbourne branch of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. He died in August 1982.