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WILLESEE, Donald Robert (1916–2003)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1950–75 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

WILLESEE, Donald Robert (1916–2003)
Senator for Western Australia, 1950–75 (Australian Labor Party)

Donald Robert Willesee was born on 14 April 1916 at Derby, Western Australia, second son of William Robert Willesee, a ‘hard drinking’ drover, cattle buyer and stock inspector, and Ethel May, née Wrightson (also known as Flinders), a boarding house proprietor. The family moved to Carnarvon, where Don attended state and convent schools. The cosmopolitan population of Carnarvon, its proximity to Asian ports, and

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WILKINSON, Lawrence Degenhardt (1903–1991)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1966–74 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

WILKINSON, Lawrence Degenhardt (1903–1991)
Senator for Western Australia, 1966–74 (Australian Labor Party)

Lawrence Degenhardt (Laurie) Wilkinson, telecommunications engineer, grazier and peace activist, was born in Fremantle on 12 November 1903, eldest of three children of Harold Wilkinson, secretary of the Fremantle Gas Company, and Lina Ellie Constance Wilkinson, née Degenhardt. Brought up in Beaconsfield on the fringes of Fremantle, Laurie was a student at Fremantle Boys’ School prior to winning a scholarship to Perth Modern School,

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WHEELDON, John Murray (1929–2006)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1965–81 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

WHEELDON, John Murray (1929–2006)
Senator for Western Australia, 1965–81 (Australian Labor Party)

Intellectual, lawyer, anti-war protestor, Labor senator, journalist and ‘Orwellian socialist with anarchist tendencies’, John Murray Wheeldon was born on 9 August 1929 at Subiaco, Perth. He was the son of Murray Walter Wheeldon, bank official, and Marjorie Lillian, née Cartwright, nurse and daughter of Tom Cartwright, prominent unionist and founding president of the Fremantle Trades Hall. Despite his maternal heritage, his early political direction

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VINCENT, Victor Seddon (1906–1964)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1950–64 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

VINCENT, Victor Seddon (1906–1964)
Senator for Western Australia, 1950–64 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Victor Seddon Vincent, known as Seddon, was a Kalgoorlie-based lawyer, widely known and highly regarded throughout the eastern goldfields of Western Australia. He was an excellent speaker and incisive debater, with broad cultural interests. Vincent was born in the goldfields town of Leonora on 1 June 1906, and retained close ties to the goldfields for the rest of his life. His father, Victor Franklin

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THOMAS, Andrew Murray (1936–2011 )<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1975–83 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

THOMAS, Andrew Murray (1936–2011 )
Senator for Western Australia, 1975–83 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Andrew Murray Thomas was born at Blyth, South Australia, on 14 March 1936, the first of four children of Philip Murray Thomas and his wife Joy Gertrude, née Tiver. Educated at the one-teacher Stanley Flat School and at Clare High School from 1949 to 1951, he followed his father and grandfather to become a farmer and stud sheep breeder. He regularly accompanied his father

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TANGNEY, Dame Dorothy Margaret (1907–1985)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1943–68 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

TANGNEY, Dame Dorothy Margaret (1907–1985)
Senator for Western Australia, 1943–68 (Australian Labor Party)

In 1943 Dorothy Margaret Tangney became the first woman senator and the first Labor woman in either house of the federal Parliament. Tangney was born in North Perth, Western Australia, on 13 March 1907, though either through misinformation or artifice she provided 1911 as the year of her birth. She was the third of seven surviving children of Irish-born Eugene Tangney, timber mill worker

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SIM, John Peter (1917–2015) <br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1964–81 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

SIM, John Peter (1917–2015)
Senator for Western Australia, 1964–81 (Liberal Party of Australia)

John Peter Sim was born at Colac, Victoria, on 21 January 1917, one of twin sons born to John Percy Sim, farmer and grazier of Ondit, and his wife Grace Maria, formerly Plowman, born in Melbourne. Immigrants to Victoria from Scotland in the mid-19th century, the Sim family had been primary producers for many years, specialising in cattle and fat lambs. Peter, as he

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SCOTT, Malcolm Fox (1910–1989)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1950–71 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

SCOTT, Malcolm Fox (1910–1989)
Senator for Western Australia, 1950–71 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Malcolm Fox Scott, who entered federal politics at thirty-eight from a background in farming, business and local government, served for over twenty-one years in the Senate, two as Government Whip, and a further two as a minister. Malcolm was born on 11 May 1910, at Bridgetown, Western Australia, the second child and eldest son of Thomas Scott, a Scottish migrant, and Ada Margaretta, née

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REID, David Donald (1933– )<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1974 (Australian Country Party)</span>

REID, David Donald (1933– )
Senator for Western Australia, 1974 (Australian Country Party)

David Donald Reid, farmer and landcare practitioner, was born on 10 May 1933 at Bridgetown, Western Australia, the only son of Donald Phillip Reid, primary producer, and his wife Marion Fraser, née Davies. He was educated at Bridgetown Primary School and Denmark Agricultural College from which he graduated with a Diploma of Agriculture in 1949 (in later years he completed part of a postgraduate

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PROWSE, Edgar Wylie (1905–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1962–73 (Australian Country Party)</span>

PROWSE, Edgar Wylie (1905–1977)
Senator for Western Australia, 1962–73 (Australian Country Party)

Edgar Wylie Prowse, farmer and politician, was born at Mount Kokeby in the Western Australian wheat belt on 22 March 1905, one of two surviving sons of the nine children of Albert (‘Ab’) Edward Cornwall Prowse, policeman and farmer, and Maud Helena Grace, née Quarmby, both from New South Wales. Encouraged by Ab’s brother John Henry (Jack), who had settled in Western Australia, the

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PALTRIDGE, Sir Shane Dunne (1910–1966)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1951–66 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

PALTRIDGE, Sir Shane Dunne (1910–1966)
Senator for Western Australia, 1951–66 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Like many of his peers, Shane Paltridge brought to the Senate significant life and work experiences, including business and war service. Born in Leederville, Perth, on 11 January 1910, he was the younger of two children of Archer Dunn Paltridge, a bank clerk, and Florence Marjorie, née Thomas, both of whom came from South Australia. Shane’s early life was punctuated by relocations, as his

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NEGUS, Sydney Ambrose (1912–1986)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1971–74 (Independent)</span>

NEGUS, Sydney Ambrose (1912–1986)
Senator for Western Australia, 1971–74 (Independent)

Sydney Ambrose Negus, a somewhat quixotic figure, thus announced his intention to use membership of the Senate to further a campaign in the public interest. Standing as an independent on the single issue of death duties, he had easily won the fifth Senate seat for Western Australia at the elections of 21 November 1970. His election was as much a surprise to himself as

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MARTYR, John Raymond (1932– )<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1981–83 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

MARTYR, John Raymond (1932– )
Senator for Western Australia, 1981–83 (Liberal Party of Australia)

John Raymond Martyr, vigorous promoter of ‘pro-life’ policies and of self-reliance, was born in Melbourne on 25 May 1932, elder of two sons of Ernest John Martyr and Ellen Mary, née Goodwin. Ernest Martyr was variously a ‘bush worker’ and ‘dyer and cleaner’ served briefly in the AIF in 1918, and then in the Royal Australian Navy as a stoker and officer’s steward. Classified

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DRAKE-BROCKMAN, Sir Thomas Charles (1919–1992)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1958–78 (Australian Country Party; National Country Party) </span>

DRAKE-BROCKMAN, Sir Thomas Charles (1919–1992)
Senator for Western Australia, 1958–78 (Australian Country Party; National Country Party)

Thomas Charles Drake-Brockman, farmer, airman and grazier, was a member of a pioneering Western Australian family. His great-grandfather, Robert James Brockman, arrived at Fremantle from England in 1831. One of Robert’s grandchildren, Robert James Hastie Brockman, became a farmer at Toodyay, near Northam. In 1918 Robert married Rose Ita (Nora) Marrinan, who came from Kilkee, Ireland. Rose had arrived in Perth in 1911, aged

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COOKE, Joseph Alfred (1904–1981)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1947–51, 1952–65 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

COOKE, Joseph Alfred (1904–1981)
Senator for Western Australia, 1947–51, 1952–65 (Australian Labor Party)

Joseph Alfred Cooke, whose family name of Cook acquired an ‘e’ on his parents’ marriage certificate, was born in Perth on 28 March 1904, sixth child of Charles John Cook, a draper, and Elizabeth Anne, née Doonan. Elizabeth came from a well-to-do family of grocers and drapers in Fremantle. Joe’s early childhood was spent at Jarrahdale. From 1914 the family lived in the south-west

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CANT, Hartley Gordon James (1907–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1959–74 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

CANT, Hartley Gordon James (1907–1977)
Senator for Western Australia, 1959–74 (Australian Labor Party)

Hartley Gordon James Cant, miner, union official and industrial advocate, was born at Mount Magnet, Western Australia, on 19 November 1907, the beginning of a long association with remote areas of the state, which became central to his working life. Known as Harry to his friends and colleagues, he was one of nine surviving children of Arthur Edward Cant, a labourer, and Bridget, née

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BRANSON, George Howard (1918–1999)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1958–71 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

BRANSON, George Howard (1918–1999)
Senator for Western Australia, 1958–71 (Liberal Party of Australia)

George Howard Branson, sales manager and farmer, was born in Perth on 23 February 1918, the third of five surviving children of South Australian-born Howard Henry Branson and Ethel May, née Carrett, from Victoria. At the turn of the century Howard had been a goldminer in Geraldton and went on to acquire interests from mining magnate Claude de Bernales. Faced with lung problems, Branson

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WEDGWOOD, Dame Ivy Evelyn Annie (1896–1975)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1950–71 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

WEDGWOOD, Dame Ivy Evelyn Annie (1896–1975)
Senator for Victoria, 1950–71 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Dame Ivy Evelyn Annie Wedgwood, accountant and magistrate, was a founding member of the Liberal Party, and was the first Victorian woman elected to the Senate. Ivy was born on 18 October 1896 in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern, the elder of two daughters of Elizabeth, née Evans, and her husband, Albert Drury, both Victorian-born. Ivy grew up in the Melbourne working-class suburb of

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WEBSTER, James Joseph (1925–)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1964–80 (Australian Country Party; National Country Party)</span>

WEBSTER, James Joseph (1925–)
Senator for Victoria, 1964–80 (Australian Country Party; National Country Party)

James Joseph Webster was born on Flinders Island, Tasmania, on 14 June 1925, the youngest of three sons of Leslie Leeder Webster and Eileen Dorothy, née Thorne. Leslie Webster was a farmer, chairman of the local butter factory, Justice of the Peace and a shire councillor. In 1929 the family moved to Dunhelen, a farm at Greenvale near Melbourne, where they lived for many

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WADE, Harrie Walter (1905–1964)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1956–64 (Australian Country Party)</span>

WADE, Harrie Walter (1905–1964)
Senator for Victoria, 1956–64 (Australian Country Party)

Harrie Walter Wade, farmer, accountant and Country Party leader in the Senate, was born on 10 January 1905, at Clear Lake in the Wimmera district of Victoria. He was the son of Victorian-born parents, Harrie Walter Wade, farmer, and Ada Louise, née Edmonds. He attended the local primary and high schools at Horsham, then worked for a time as a schoolteacher and a clerk,

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TEHAN, Thomas Joseph (1916–1996)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1975–78 (National Country Party)</span>

TEHAN, Thomas Joseph (1916–1996)
Senator for Victoria, 1975–78 (National Country Party)

With his Irish Catholic heritage and ‘doubtful’ vocation as a ‘provincial lawyer’, Tom Tehan appeared to be an unlikely member of the National Party of Australia, much less its Victorian president and senator. Nonetheless, he firmly believed in the party’s ‘bread and butter philosophy’ and was adamant that rural enterprises were the lifeblood of regional families and communities. Thomas Joseph Tehan was born at

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SANDFORD, Charles Walter (1895–1966)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1947–56, 1957–66 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

SANDFORD, Charles Walter (1895–1966)
Senator for Victoria, 1947–56, 1957–66 (Australian Labor Party)

Charles Walter Sandford was born at Camp Hill, Creswick, Victoria, on 11 September 1895 to Edwin Thomas Sandford, born in New York State, USA, and his wife, Victorian-born Margaret Ann, née Jordan. According to family recollection, Edwin, the son of an English storekeeper who had migrated to America, had returned to England with his family before taking ship for Australia. He left the ship

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POYSER, Arthur George (1915–1986)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1966–75 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

POYSER, Arthur George (1915–1986)
Senator for Victoria, 1966–75 (Australian Labor Party)

Arthur George Poyser, labourer, tram conductor and ALP organiser, was born on 13 February 1915 at Ballarat, Victoria, the son of Arthur George Poyser, a carpenter, and his wife, Mary Jane, née Andrew. George, as he was known, grew up in a family that struggled to make ends meet. He attended Ashby State School in Geelong, going on to work in the textile industry.

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NEAL, Laurence William (1947– )<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1980–81 (National Country Party)</span>

NEAL, Laurence William (1947– )
Senator for Victoria, 1980–81 (National Country Party)

The question asked about Laurence William Neal, National Country Party (NCP) senator from Victoria, was how did ‘an academic at La Trobe University, a political scientist, a city dweller since the age of 18’ become ‘the representative of a party of farmers?’ Described by the Melbourne Age as ‘soft-spoken, pleasant, and super mild—more like a kindly young Anglican vicar’, Neal’s credentials were atypical of

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MELZER, Jean Isabel (1926–2013)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1974–81 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MELZER, Jean Isabel (1926–2013)
Senator for Victoria, 1974–81 (Australian Labor Party)

Jean Isabel Melzer, the first woman in the Australian Labor Party to be elected to the Senate from Victoria, was born in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick, on 7 February 1926. She was the eldest of the three daughters of George Kenneth McLeod and Lilian Rosa, née Ford. Jean was educated at state schools at Ormond and Ormond East, Gardenvale Central School, and from

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McMANUS, Francis Patrick Vincent (1905–1983)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1956–62, 1965–74 (Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist); Democratic Labor Party)</span>

McMANUS, Francis Patrick Vincent (1905–1983)
Senator for Victoria, 1956–62, 1965–74 (Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist); Democratic Labor Party)

Francis Patrick Vincent (Frank) McManus, civilised Cold War warrior and founding member of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), was born on 27 February 1905 at North Melbourne, a suburb he would come to describe as his native land. He was the son of Patrick McManus, born in Roscommon, Ireland, and Gertrude, née Beal, who was born in West Melbourne, and who changed her name

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LITTLE, John Albert (1914–1988)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1968–74 (Democratic Labor Party)</span>

LITTLE, John Albert (1914–1988)
Senator for Victoria, 1968–74 (Democratic Labor Party)

John Albert (Jack) Little was born on 13 October 1914 in Maryborough, Victoria, the son of John Richard Little and Elizabeth Florence, née Terry. His father was in the boot retail business. After education at East Brunswick and Thornbury state schools, Jack entered the boot trade and became a ‘clicker’, that is, he cut pieces of leather from patterns to form the upper parts

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KENNELLY, Patrick John (1900–1981)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1953–71 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

KENNELLY, Patrick John (1900–1981)
Senator for Victoria, 1953–71 (Australian Labor Party)

Patrick John (Pat) Kennelly’s best-known maxim, repeated with variations over the years, typified his political life. He said that if he had to make a choice in politics between logic and numbers, he would come down on the side of the numbers. Known as the kingmaker, Kennelly, a machine man par excellence, became a legendary figure in the ALP, one whose influence extended well

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HENDRICKSON, Albion (1897–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1947–71 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

HENDRICKSON, Albion (1897–1977)
Senator for Victoria, 1947–71 (Australian Labor Party)

Albion (‘Bert’) Hendrickson, who hailed from the region surrounding Maryborough in Victoria, was born on 17 December 1897 at Adelaide Lead, a small mining community. His father was Peter Hendrickson, a miner, and his mother was Mary, née Broad, formerly Robinson. It is likely that Bert attended Maryborough State School, at least for a short time, later joining the Victorian Railways as a porter.

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HANNAN, George Conrad (1910–2009)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1956–65, 1970–74 (Liberal Party of Australia; National Liberal Party)</span>

HANNAN, George Conrad (1910–2009)
Senator for Victoria, 1956–65, 1970–74 (Liberal Party of Australia; National Liberal Party)

George Conrad Hannan, unrelenting anti-communist and social conservative, had a ‘snakes and ladders’ career in politics from 1948 until his final defeat as a National Liberal Senate candidate in 1974. Hannan was born on 10 September 1910 at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. He was the elder of the two sons of James Francis Hannan, a storekeeper, and his wife Theresa Caroline, née Reis.

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GREENWOOD, Ivor John (1926–1976)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1968–76 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

GREENWOOD, Ivor John (1926–1976)
Senator for Victoria, 1968–76 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Ivor John Greenwood, barrister, was born on 15 November 1926 in North Melbourne to Bartlett John Greenwood, a boilermaker with the Victorian Railways, and his wife Joy Olive, née Vickers, both born in Melbourne. The Greenwoods were worshippers at the Church of Christ, and Ivor later attributed the development of his political attitudes to the high sense of individual responsibility inculcated by the Church.

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GORTON, Sir John Grey (1911–2002)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1950–68 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

GORTON, Sir John Grey (1911–2002)
Senator for Victoria, 1950–68 (Liberal Party of Australia)

John Gorton, the only Australian prime minister to come from the Senate, was judged variously to be ‘a national disaster’, who was ‘utterly unfitted for the post’; a man ‘ahead of his time’; and the leader who ‘could have been our greatest prime minister’. He was also described, with some accuracy, as the Liberal Party’s ‘only true maverick prime minister’. John Grey Gorton was

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CORMACK, Sir Magnus Cameron (1906–1994)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1951–53, 1962–78 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

CORMACK, Sir Magnus Cameron (1906–1994)
Senator for Victoria, 1951–53, 1962–78 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Magnus Cameron Cormack was born on 12 February 1906 at Wick, Scotland, eldest of five children of William Petrie Cormack, a medical practitioner, and his wife Violet, née Cameron. The family migrated to South Australia in about 1912, their destination influenced by Dr Cormack’s health, and by the presence in Adelaide of his cousin, Senator Sir Josiah Symon. The family first lived on the

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COHEN, Samuel Herbert (1918–1969)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1962–69 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

COHEN, Samuel Herbert (1918–1969)
Senator for Victoria, 1962–69 (Australian Labor Party)

Samuel Herbert Cohen, barrister and politician, was born at Bankstown, New South Wales, on 26 October 1918, eldest son of Max Lazarus Cohen, a tailor’s cutter, and Fanny Dinah, née Fagelman, of Sydney. Sam’s parents were Russian Jews who had migrated to Australia as children. His father worked briefly as a tailor and draper in the country town of Griffith, and then joined Beaurepaire

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BROWN, William Walter Charles (1920–2001)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1969–70, 1971–78 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

BROWN, William Walter Charles (1920–2001)
Senator for Victoria, 1969–70, 1971–78 (Australian Labor Party)

Senator Bill Brown, cabinetmaker and trade union official, was a gracious and popular figure in the Senate, albeit an outspoken and passionate one. He was born William Walter Charles Brown in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, on 4 December 1920, the second child of William Samuel Brown, a French-polisher, and Eileen, née Ryder. After attending Catholic schools in inner-city Melbourne and studying at night

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BREEN, Dame Marie Freda (1902–1993)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1962–68 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

BREEN, Dame Marie Freda (1902–1993)
Senator for Victoria, 1962–68 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Although claiming to be a somewhat reluctant senator, Marie Freda Breen created her own opportunities for political advancement and was committed to the increased representation of women in all facets of public life. Marie was born on 3 November 1902 at St Kilda, Victoria, second child of Frederick William Chamberlin, town clerk of St Kilda, who was born in London, and his Australian-born wife,

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WRIGHT, Sir Reginald Charles (1905–1990)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1950–78 (Liberal Party of Australia; Independent)</span>

WRIGHT, Sir Reginald Charles (1905–1990)
Senator for Tasmania, 1950–78 (Liberal Party of Australia; Independent)

Reginald Charles Wright, known always as Reg, was born on 10 July 1905 at Central Castra, Tasmania, one of ten children of John Forsyth Wright, a farmer, and his wife, Emma Maria, née Lewis. Reg’s brother, also John Forsyth Wright, was a Member for Darwin in the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1940 to 1941, and another brother, Roy Douglas (‘Pansy’) Wright, became Chancellor

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WRIEDT, Kenneth Shaw (1927–2010)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1968–80 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

WRIEDT, Kenneth Shaw (1927–2010)
Senator for Tasmania, 1968–80 (Australian Labor Party)

Kenneth Shaw Wriedt’s political life was long and eventful. He upheld principles and standards to an unusual degree. His career saw real, if limited, success. Intensely interested in politics from an early age, and with an acute sense of the ‘enormity of injustice’ throughout history, he used his strong analytical powers to distance himself from some issues. Quietly spoken, he could be scathing about

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TURNBULL, Reginald John David (1908–2006)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1962–74 (Independent; Australia Party; Independent)</span>

TURNBULL, Reginald John David (1908–2006)
Senator for Tasmania, 1962–74 (Independent; Australia Party; Independent)

Reginald John David Turnbull was the first independent to be elected to the Senate after the introduction of the proportional voting system in 1949. He represented Tasmania from 1 July 1962 until his decision not to contest the election of 18 May 1974. He had an earlier career in Tasmanian state and local politics, where he served as Minister for Health from 1948 to

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POKE, Albert George (1906–1989)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1956–74 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

POKE, Albert George (1906–1989)
Senator for Tasmania, 1956–74 (Australian Labor Party)

‘I was reared where it was tough. I was reared in the mud in the bush, brother. I can take it’. So Bob Poke (as he was always known) told a Senate opponent in 1969. There was little hyperbole in Poke’s invocation of his own hard times. He was born at Somerset, Tasmania, on 16 February 1906, second of nine children of Alfred John

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O’BYRNE, Justin Hilary (1912–1993)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1947–81 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

O’BYRNE, Justin Hilary (1912–1993)
Senator for Tasmania, 1947–81 (Australian Labor Party)

Justin Hilary O’Byrne was a World War II fighter pilot and prisoner of war, and President of the Senate during the 1975 constitutional crisis. He was born on 1 June 1912 in Launceston, Tasmania, the seventh of ten children. His father, Patrick Augustus O’Byrne, a wine and spirit merchant in Launceston, was the son of Irish migrants who had settled at Westbury. His mother,

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McKENNA, Nicholas Edward (1895–1974)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1944–68 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McKENNA, Nicholas Edward (1895–1974)
Senator for Tasmania, 1944–68 (Australian Labor Party)

Nicholas Edward McKenna was born at Carlton, Victoria, on 9 September 1895. His father, John McKenna, born in Ireland, was a prison warder who later became deputy governor of Pentridge gaol. His mother, Alice, née Darcy, came from Geelong. Nick, as he was known, was educated at St Joseph’s Christian Brothers College in North Melbourne. From 1912 to 1924 he worked as a public

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MARRIOTT, John Edward (1913–1994)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1953–75 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

MARRIOTT, John Edward (1913–1994)
Senator for Tasmania, 1953–75 (Liberal Party of Australia)

John Edward Marriott came from a Tasmanian family that maintained strong connections with England. His father, Francis (Frank), was born in London, left school at fourteen, worked in America and then went to sea. Overstaying his ship, Frank settled in Tasmania in 1903, became a farm labourer, and married English-born Alice Maud Harrison. Alice was the daughter of a Church of England clergyman who

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LILLICO, Alexander Elliot Davidson (1905–1994)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1959–74 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

LILLICO, Alexander Elliot Davidson (1905–1994)
Senator for Tasmania, 1959–74 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Alexander Elliot Davidson Lillico, who served with distinction at all three levels of government for almost forty years, was a forceful advocate for rural Tasmania, particularly for the North-West. He was born into a farming family of Scottish descent, at Ulverstone, Tasmania, on 5 September 1905, the son of Alexander Lillico (later Sir) and Frances Emma, née Vertigan. The Lillico family had arrived in

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LACEY, Robert Herbert (1900–1984)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1965–71 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

LACEY, Robert Herbert (1900–1984)
Senator for Tasmania, 1965–71 (Australian Labor Party)

Robert Herbert (Bert) Lacey was born on 12 January 1900 at Maryborough, Victoria, one of six children of Herbert Edwin, a labourer, and Ellen Eliza, née Finch. In 1985 the Senate heard a remarkable panegyric from Brian Harradine, who said that Lacey’s childhood included ‘periods of deprivation, hunger and bullying’. Harradine described Bert as ‘virtually an orphan’, who, after his mother died in 1911,

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HENTY, Sir Norman Henry Denham (1903–1978)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1950–68 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

HENTY, Sir Norman Henry Denham (1903–1978)
Senator for Tasmania, 1950–68 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Norman Henry Denham Henty, an energetic, down to earth Tasmanian businessman, belonged to a well-known pioneering family that had settled in Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia. His parents were Thomas Norman Henty, a storekeeper, and Sarah Lily Nina, née Wilson, the daughter of a surgeon. Thomas managed a small retail grocery business, A. Brown & Co., in the Tasmanian town of Longford, where, on

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EVERETT, Mervyn George (1917–1988)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1974–75 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

EVERETT, Mervyn George (1917–1988)
Senator for Tasmania, 1974–75 (Australian Labor Party)

It was said of Merv Everett that it was ‘difficult to think of any other Tasmanian who, with such distinction, served both his State and the Commonwealth of Australia in such a variety of fields, judicial, political, administrative and academic’. Mervyn George Everett was born in Sandy Bay, Hobart, on 7 October 1917, the third child of William George Everett, a clerk, and his

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DEVITT, Donald Michael (1921–2008)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1965–78 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

DEVITT, Donald Michael (1921–2008)
Senator for Tasmania, 1965–78 (Australian Labor Party)

Donald Michael Devitt was born on 11 July 1921 in Launceston, Tasmania, the son of William Francis Devitt and Kathleen Mary, née Maloney, both of Irish Catholic background. His father was a policeman who reached the rank of inspector. Devitt was educated at Smithton State High School from 1929 to 1937. In January 1942 he enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces (CMF), transferring to

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COLE, George Ronald (1908–1969)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1950–65 (Australian Labor Party; Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist); Democratic Labor Party)</span>

COLE, George Ronald (1908–1969)
Senator for Tasmania, 1950–65 (Australian Labor Party; Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist); Democratic Labor Party)

George Ronald Cole, first national leader of the Democratic Labor Party, was born on 9 February 1908 at Don, near Devonport, Tasmania. He was one of five children of Tasmanian-born parents, George Cole, a labourer, and Alice, née Rutter. George Ronald was educated at Devonport High School, gaining matriculation to the University of Tasmania. In 1925 he became a probationary student teacher, in 1927

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BESSELL, Eric James (1923–1979)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1974–75 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

BESSELL, Eric James (1923–1979)
Senator for Tasmania, 1974–75 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Eric James Bessell was a loyal party member and conscientious parliamentarian, whose political career ended when his view of the proper role of the Senate came into conflict with his party’s short-term political aims. He was born in Launceston to Harold Aubrey Bessell, a miner, and Robina Allen, née Dallas, on 6 June 1923. When he was five years old, the family moved from

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AYLETT, William Edward (1900–1976)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1938–65 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

AYLETT, William Edward (1900–1976)
Senator for Tasmania, 1938–65 (Australian Labor Party)

William Edward (Bill) Aylett was of convict ancestry, his grandfather, William Aylett having been transported to Tasmania in 1845 for the theft of two beehives. Born at Wynyard in north-western Tasmania on 15 November 1900, Bill Aylett was the sixth of twelve children of Edward Aylett, a farmer and furrier, and Harriett Susanna, née Matthews. In 1914 the Aylett family moved to Waratah, the

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YOUNG, Sir Harold William (1923–2006)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1968–83 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

YOUNG, Sir Harold William (1923–2006)
Senator for South Australia, 1968–83 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Harold William Young, pastoralist and President of the Senate, was born on 30 June 1923 at Port Broughton, South Australia, to Frederick James Young, a farmer of Bews, and Edith Mabel, née Scott. Harold’s great-grandfather and his family arrived at Port Adelaide from the Shetland Islands off the coast of Scotland in January 1852, on board the Charlotte Jane. In 1886 Harold’s grandfather took

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TOOHEY, James Philip (1909–1992)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1953–71 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

TOOHEY, James Philip (1909–1992)
Senator for South Australia, 1953–71 (Australian Labor Party)

James Philip Toohey, union official and Labor Party secretary, played a central role in holding together Labor’s South Australian branch during the ALP Split of 1954–55. Jim, as he was known, was born in Rose Park, Adelaide, on 11 July 1909, the eighth of eleven children of James Patrick, a builder’s labourer, and Lilian née Morgan. Educated at various state and Catholic schools in

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RIDLEY, Clement Frank (1909–1988)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1959–71 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

RIDLEY, Clement Frank (1909–1988)
Senator for South Australia, 1959–71 (Australian Labor Party)

While Clem Ridley was respected in the Senate for his knowledge of industrial affairs, his thoughtful contributions to debate, and his dignified bearing, his most significant achievements lay outside the parliamentary arena, as a dedicated and successful union leader, and as a steadying influence within the inner circles of the South Australian ALP during the time of the Split. Clem Ridley was born Frank

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NICHOLLS, Theophilus Martin (1894–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1944–68 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

NICHOLLS, Theophilus Martin (1894–1977)
Senator for South Australia, 1944–68 (Australian Labor Party)

Theophilus Martin (Theo) Nicholls, lifelong unionist and traditional Labor man with practical sense and a visionary streak, was born on 21 August 1894, at Wilmington, South Australia, the eighth child of Martin Nicholls, a miner, and Elizabeth, née Gum. When he was three, the family moved to Port Pirie. As a young man, he worked at Broken Hill for four years, from about 1908.

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McLAREN, Geoffrey Thomas (1921–1992)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1971–83 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McLAREN, Geoffrey Thomas (1921–1992)
Senator for South Australia, 1971–83 (Australian Labor Party)

During his twelve years in the Senate, Geoff McLaren, an ‘old-fashioned’ Laborite, gained a reputation on both sides of politics as a very hard worker who took part in the Senate’s proceedings with great gusto. If not especially influential, he was never inconspicuous. Senator Watson once cited McLaren’s daily habit of reading the whole of the previous day’s Hansard, a practice, Watson considered, that

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MATTNER, Edward William (1893–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1944–46, 1950–68 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

MATTNER, Edward William (1893–1977)
Senator for South Australia, 1944–46, 1950–68 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Edward William (Ted) Mattner was born on 16 September 1893 near Oakbank, South Australia, the third of four children of William Charles Mattner, gardener and later a farmer, and Emily Louisa, née Hocking. Educated at Oakbank School, from the age of fourteen he remained at the school as a trainee teacher before attending Adelaide High School (1910–12), where he was awarded the Rossiter Prize

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LAUGHT, Keith Alexander (1907–1969)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1951–69 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

LAUGHT, Keith Alexander (1907–1969)
Senator for South Australia, 1951–69 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Keith Alexander Laught, ‘ambassador for Mount Gambier’, was born on 2 January 1907 at Mitcham, Adelaide. He was the elder of two surviving sons born to Alexander Veitch Laught, a telegraph clerk, and his wife Johanne Christiane née Wittber, a potter whose work is held in the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. One of his uncles was Bill (Carl) Wittber, the aviation pioneer, and Keith’s

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LAUCKE, Sir Condor Louis (1914–1993)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1967–81 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

LAUCKE, Sir Condor Louis (1914–1993)
Senator for South Australia, 1967–81 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Condor Louis Laucke, wine maker, flour miller and company director, was born in Greenock, in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, on 9 November 1914, youngest of six children born to Friedrich and Anna Louise née Jungfer. Anna had been born at Neukirch near Greenock, and Friedrich arrived in Port Adelaide from Germany on 30 May 1895 on board the SS Gera. Condor, who was named

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HANNAFORD, Douglas Clive (1903–1967)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1950–67 (Liberal Party of Australia; Independent)</span>

HANNAFORD, Douglas Clive (1903–1967)
Senator for South Australia, 1950–67 (Liberal Party of Australia; Independent)

Douglas Clive Hannaford, who spoke out against his party’s support of the Vietnam War, was born to Walter Hannaford and Clara Evelyn, née Bowden, on 11 January 1903 in the South Australian town of Riverton. A member of the Legislative Council of South Australia for almost thirty years, Walter was a farmer and pastoralist on the family property, Broad Oak. Walter’s father established the

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DRURY, Arnold Joseph (1912–1995)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1959–75 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

DRURY, Arnold Joseph (1912–1995)
Senator for South Australia, 1959–75 (Australian Labor Party)

Arnold Joseph Drury, grocer, was born in Adelaide on 23 July 1912, the sixth of eight children of William, a labourer, and Mary Allen, also known as Green. A member of a close-knit Catholic family, he was educated at St Mary’s Dominican Convent in Franklin Street, Adelaide, selling newspapers as a lad and leaving school at the age of fourteen due to family financial

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DAVIDSON, Gordon Sinclair (1915–2002)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1961, 1962, 1965–81 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

DAVIDSON, Gordon Sinclair (1915–2002)
Senator for South Australia, 1961, 1962, 1965–81 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Gordon Sinclair Davidson, farmer and grazier, and prominent Presbyterian, was born at North Unley, Adelaide, on 17 January 1915. He was the first of two sons of Sinclair Davidson and his wife Elsie Eva, née McNeil, both native-born. Sinclair Davidson farmed Burnfoot, at Angas Plains, near Strathalbyn, South Australia, where many Scots had settled. Davidson, who saw his descent as ‘pure Scots’, was later

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CAVANAGH, James Luke (1913–1990)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1962–81 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

CAVANAGH, James Luke (1913–1990)
Senator for South Australia, 1962–81 (Australian Labor Party)

Jim Cavanagh was the most militant, and possibly the most effective, trade union official in South Australia during the decade and a half after World War II. Moreover, he was one of the most talented and energetic members of Labor’s contingent in the Senate, during the 1960s and 1970s. As a trade union secretary and Opposition senator, Cavanagh was in his element, but during

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CAMERON, Martin Bruce (1935–)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1969 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

CAMERON, Martin Bruce (1935–)
Senator for South Australia, 1969 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Martin Bruce Cameron, whose career in the Senate lasted a mere five months, from 23 May to 24 October 1969, was born in Millicent, South Australia, on 24 August 1935, the only son of the five children of Gordon Reece Cameron of pioneering Scots descent and his wife, Asta, née May. As his father farmed around the South-East, Martin received his primary schooling at

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