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SHEIL, Glenister (1929–2008)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1974–81 (Australian Country Party; National Country Party); 1984–90 (National Party of Australia)</span>

SHEIL, Glenister (1929–2008)
Senator for Queensland, 1974–81 (Australian Country Party; National Country Party); 1984–90 (National Party of Australia)

Glenister (Glen) Sheil is remembered in Australian political history as the shortest-serving federal minister, although his appointment as Minister for Veterans’ Affairs was never gazetted. Sworn in as a member of the Executive Council on 20 December 1977, his appointment was terminated by Prime Minister Malcom Fraser two days later. Responding to a phone call from a journalist, and in a subsequent radio interview,

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SHORT, James Robert (1936– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1985–97 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

SHORT, James Robert (1936– )
Senator for Victoria, 1985–97 (Liberal Party of Australia)

James (Jim) Robert Short was born on 7 December 1936 at Shepparton, Victoria, the youngest of three children of George Short, a surveyor with the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, and his wife, Elsie, née Hearn. At the outbreak of World War II the family moved to Wangaratta when George Short was seconded to head the local branch of the wartime Manpower Directorate.

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SIBRAA, Kerry Walter (1937– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1975–78, 1978–94 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

SIBRAA, Kerry Walter (1937– )
Senator for New South Wales, 1975–78, 1978–94 (Australian Labor Party)

Kerry Walter Sibraa was born in Sydney on 12 October 1937, the only son of teachers Edna May, née Williams, and Arthur Francis Sibraa. Kerry attended state primary schools at Condoblin, Ungarie, Shortland and Newcastle, following his father’s moves between schools as a teacher and headmaster. He began his secondary education at Newcastle Boys’ High School and then moved to North Sydney Boys’ High

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SIDDONS, John Royston (1927–2016)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1981–83; 1985–87 (Australian Democrats; Independent; Unite Australia Party)</span>

SIDDONS, John Royston (1927–2016)
Senator for Victoria, 1981–83; 1985–87 (Australian Democrats; Independent; Unite Australia Party)

John Royston Siddons was born in Melbourne, Victoria on 5 October 1927, the middle child and only son of Royston and Agnes Emily Siddons, née Smith. Agnes was a schoolteacher and Royston an electrical engineer. In 1931 Royston bought a disused metal casting factory in Fitzroy, moving his operations to Clifton Hill in 1934. Initially making cabinet hardware, he later expanded into die-cast padlocks

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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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SMITH, Miles Staniforth Cater (1869–1934)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1901–06 (Free Trade)</span>

SMITH, Miles Staniforth Cater (1869–1934)
Senator for Western Australia, 1901–06 (Free Trade)

Miles Staniforth Cater Smith, administrator, soldier, author, explorer and farmer, was a colourful and controversial character. Usually known as Staniforth Smith, he was born on 25 February 1869 at Kingston, Victoria, to English-born parents, William John Smith, a farmer, and Margaret Gomersall, née Charlesworth. After education at St Arnaud Grammar School, Smith studied engineering, for a time, at Melbourne University. Employed in the Melbourne

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SPICER, Sir John Armstrong (1899–1978)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1940–44, 1949–56 (United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

SPICER, Sir John Armstrong (1899–1978)
Senator for Victoria, 1940–44, 1949–56 (United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

John Armstrong Spicer, Attorney-General of the Commonwealth, first Chief Judge of the Industrial Court and one of the group of ‘largely forgotten figures’ who assisted R. G. Menzies in the founding of the Liberal Party, was born at 935 High Street, Armadale, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, on 5 March 1899. Spicer’s father, Henry, was a photographer, born in Torquay, England, and his mother, Helen Jane,

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SPINDLER, Siegfried Emil (1932–2008)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1990–96 (Australian Democrats)</span>

SPINDLER, Siegfried Emil (1932–2008)
Senator for Victoria, 1990–96 (Australian Democrats)

Siegfried Emil (Sid) Spindler, businessman, lawyer and philanthropist, was born on 9 July 1932 at Lodz, Poland. He was the son of Oskar Karl Spindler, business manager, and Gertrud Alma Spindler, née Bernewitz. Sid Spindler’s life was shaped by his experiences in occupied Poland during World War II. The Spindler family were Volksdeutsche, ethnic Germans who held Polish citizenship and lived within a multicultural

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SPOONER, Sir William Henry (1897–1966)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1950–65 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

SPOONER, Sir William Henry (1897–1966)
Senator for New South Wales, 1950–65 (Liberal Party of Australia)

William Henry (Bill) Spooner, chartered accountant and founding member of the Liberal Party in New South Wales, was born on 23 December 1897 in the working class suburb of Surry Hills. He was the fifth child born to William Henry Spooner, compositor, and his wife, Maud Ann, née Dubois. Bill obtained a sound education at Christ Church School, Sydney, where in 1911 he won

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ST LEDGER, Anthony James Joseph (1859–1929)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1907–13 (Anti-Socialist Party)</span>

ST LEDGER, Anthony James Joseph (1859–1929)
Senator for Queensland, 1907–13 (Anti-Socialist Party)

Anthony James Joseph St Ledger, educationalist, who was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, on 18 February 1859, arrived in Queensland on the Persia on 3 December 1861 with his parents, Michael, a sawyer, and Martha née Waddington, and his brother John and sister Mary. His education took place at St Mary’s Boys’ School, Ipswich, under Rev. J. Breen, followed by some years at St Kilian’s

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STONE, John Owen (1929– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1987–90 (National Party of Australia)</span>

STONE, John Owen (1929– )
Senator for Queensland, 1987–90 (National Party of Australia)

John Stone was one of the most outspoken and controversial figures in Australian public life. When head of the Treasury during the late 1970s and early 1980s he was widely regarded as Australia’s leading public servant. In 1978 the journalist Paul Kelly described Stone as one of the two men who ran the nation (Prime Minister Fraser was the other). To his admirers he

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STORY, William Harrison (1857–1924)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1904–17 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist)</span>

STORY, William Harrison (1857–1924)
Senator for South Australia, 1904–17 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist)

William Harrison Story, trade unionist, businessman and politician, and son of George and Eliza Story, née Morgan, was born in Mitcham, South Australia on 31 May 1857. Shortly thereafter the family moved to Norton Summit as William’s father, at that time occupied as a gardener, had been commissioned to lay out and plant the grounds of ‘Drysdale’, the home of Thomas Playford. In 1863,

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SULLIVAN, Kathryn Jean Martin (1942– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1974–84 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

SULLIVAN, Kathryn Jean Martin (1942– )
Senator for Queensland, 1974–84 (Liberal Party of Australia)

In her youth Kathy Martin aspired to be a lawyer or a police officer. Despite her best efforts the inherent gender discrimination of the 1950s and 1960s proved insurmountable and she would move into the more ‘acceptable’ field of education. Only a few decades later, her entry into Australia’s federal Parliament proved to be the ultimate irony. Instead of practising or enforcing the law,

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SYMON, Sir Josiah Henry (1846–1934)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1901–13 (Free Trade; Anti-Socialist Party)</span>

SYMON, Sir Josiah Henry (1846–1934)
Senator for South Australia, 1901–13 (Free Trade; Anti-Socialist Party)

Josiah Henry Symon was born at Wick, Caithness, Scotland, on 27 September 1846, the son of James, a cabinetmaker, and Elizabeth, née Sutherland. Josiah was educated at the Allan’s School, Stirling, the Stirling High School and then inEdinburgh for two years. In 1866, Symon migrated to South Australia and began a legal career, taking articles with his cousin, J. D.  Sutherland, at rural Mount

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SYNON, Karen (1959– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1997–99 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

SYNON, Karen (1959– )
Senator for Victoria, 1997–99 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Karen Margaret Synon was born in Moe, Victoria on 15 September 1959 and attended Whitehorse Girls’ College and Blackburn South High School before completing a Master of Business Administration at the University of Melbourne. Prior to embarking on a parliamentary career, Synon worked in a range of community development and education roles and in a senior management role in the Victorian public service. In

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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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TATE, John Percival (1894–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1950–53 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

TATE, John Percival (1894–1977)
Senator for New South Wales, 1950–53 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Before entering the Senate in 1950, John Percival Tate had an extensive career as an architect, businessman, consulting engineer, housing adviser and town planner. He also had an impressive record of service in Sydney local government. He was born John Henry Tate on 21 March 1894 at Wellington, New Zealand, son of Robert Gillies Tate, cook, and Frances Lillian, née Gormley, both born in

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TATE, Michael Carter (1945– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1978–93 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

TATE, Michael Carter (1945– )
Senator for Tasmania, 1978–93 (Australian Labor Party)

Michael Carter Tate was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 6 July 1945, eldest child of William Arthur Tate and his wife Wilma Ellen, née Carter. His father was originally from Tasmania, and after eleven years in Western Australia and New South Wales, was transferred back to Tasmania as an accountant with the Caltex oil company, and the family settled in Hobart. Michael

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TEAGUE, Baden Chapman (1944– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1978–96 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

TEAGUE, Baden Chapman (1944– )
Senator for South Australia, 1978–96 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Baden Chapman Teague was born on 18 September 1944 at the Ashford Hospital, Adelaide. A fifth-generation Australian, he was the second of three children of Colin Archibald Teague, a builder, and his wife Nita Kathleen, née Readett. While growing up in the suburbs of Glenelg and Somerton Park, Baden Teague was educated at local primary schools and at St Peter’s College, Adelaide, (1955–62), where

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THOMAS, Josiah (1863–1933)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1917–23, 1925–29 (Nationalist Party)</span>

THOMAS, Josiah (1863–1933)
Senator for New South Wales, 1917–23, 1925–29 (Nationalist Party)

Josiah Thomas, miner, Wesleyan lay preacher, temperance man and federal minister, was born in Camborne, Cornwall, England, on 28 April 1863, the son of Josiah Thomas and his wife Ann, née Rablin. As a boy, Josiah accompanied his father, probably a mine manager, to the Mexican silver mines. Largely self-educated, the young Thomas worked in the Cornish mines. He seems to have arrived in

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THOMPSON, William George (1863–1953)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1922–32 (Nationalist Party)</span>

THOMPSON, William George (1863–1953)
Senator for Queensland, 1922–32 (Nationalist Party)

William George Thompson, businessman and soldier, was born on 2 March 1863 at Lurgan, Armagh, Ireland, the son of William, fencing contractor, and Isabella, née Campbell. The family migrated to Rockhampton when William was fourteen months old. After attending Rockhampton North State School Thompson started work as an office boy with the wine and spirit merchant, W. Jackson. He attended night classes and by

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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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TRENWITH, William Arthur (1846–1925)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1904–10 (Independent)</span>

TRENWITH, William Arthur (1846–1925)
Senator for Victoria, 1904–10 (Independent)

William Arthur Trenwith, bootmaker, federal father and the first Independent senator, was born on 15 July 1846 at Launceston, Tasmania. His convict parents, William Trenwith and Beatrice McBarrett, were not wed at the time, but seem to have married by 1850. His father, who came from Penzance, Cornwall, and was transported for life for burglary, arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1825; he was

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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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UPPILL, Oliver (1876–1946)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1935–44 (United Australia Party)</span>

UPPILL, Oliver (1876–1946)
Senator for South Australia, 1935–44 (United Australia Party)

Oliver Uppill, farmer, was born at his father’s farm at Nantawarra, South Australia, on 9 May 1876, the second of four sons and five daughters born to Robert Uppill and his wife Olivia, née Plush. The Uppills were a pioneering Methodist farming family with many ties in the district. The Uppill children were educated at Balaklava Public School and privately. Balaklava, the centre of

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VALLENTINE, Josephine (1946– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1985–92 (Nuclear Disarmament Party; Independent; Greens WA)</span>

VALLENTINE, Josephine (1946– )
Senator for Western Australia, 1985–92 (Nuclear Disarmament Party; Independent; Greens WA)

Josephine (Jo) Vallentine was born on 30 May 1946 in the wheatbelt town of Beverley, east of Perth, one of five children of Oswald Robert Vallentine, a farmer, and his wife Sylvia Cyclone, née Miles. Jo attributed her desire to make a difference in the world to several influences. She regarded both her grandfathers as ‘the types to make things happen’ and was impressed

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VARDON, Edward Charles (1866–1937)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1921–22 (Nationalist Party)</span>

VARDON, Edward Charles (1866–1937)
Senator for South Australia, 1921–22 (Nationalist Party)

Edward Charles Vardon was an Adelaide businessman, who, as a printer, a Freemason, a prominent member of the Congregational Church, a member of the South Australian Liberal Union, a South Australian parliamentarian and a senator for South Australia, followed in the footsteps of his father, Joseph Vardon. Edward was born at Hindmarsh in Adelaide on 10 November 1866, one of five children of Joseph

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VARDON, Joseph (1843–1913)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1907, 1908–13 (Anti-Socialist Party; Liberal Party)</span>

VARDON, Joseph (1843–1913)
Senator for South Australia, 1907, 1908–13 (Anti-Socialist Party; Liberal Party)

Joseph Vardon, printer, was born on 27 July 1843, in the small South Australian town of Hindmarsh, the eldest son of Ambrose Edward Vardon, a shoemaker, and Elizabeth, née Painter. Joseph’s parents were among the earliest colonists of South Australia having arrived in the colony in 1839. Joseph received his elementary education at Moody’s School in Hindmarsh and James Bath’s school in North Adelaide.

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VERRAN, John (1856–1932)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1927–28 (Nationalist Party)</span>

VERRAN, John (1856–1932)
Senator for South Australia, 1927–28 (Nationalist Party)

John Verran, miner, preacher, temperance advocate and politician, was a bluff, fiery man, short and stout, but of great physical strength. A twin son of John Spargoe Verran, copper miner, and his wife Elizabeth Jane, née Harvey, he was born at Gwennap, Cornwall, England, on 9 August 1856. In 1857, the family migrated to South Australia’s copper mining town of Kapunda, moving on after

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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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WALKER, James Thomas (1841–1923)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1901–13 (Free Trade; Anti-Socialist Party)</span>

WALKER, James Thomas (1841–1923)
Senator for New South Wales, 1901–13 (Free Trade; Anti-Socialist Party)

James Thomas Walker, banker, federalist and ‘out-and-out free-trader’, was born on 20 March 1841 in Leith Walk, Midlothian, Scotland, to John William Walker, grazier, and Elizabeth, née Waterston. In 1844, John William moved to Australia with his family, settling on Castlesteads Station, Boorowa, in New South Wales. After four years, he sold the property to Hamilton Hume, the explorer, and the family returned to

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WALSH, Peter Alexander (1935–2015)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1974–93 (Australian Labor Party)

WALSH, Peter Alexander (1935–2015)
Senator for Western Australia, 1974–93 (Australian Labor Party)

Peter Alexander Walsh was born on 11 March 1935 at Kellerberrin in the central wheat belt of Western Australia. He was the second son of Robert Walsh and his wife, Dorothy, née Ray, both of whom had come from Victoria in 1930 to lease and work a wheat and sheep farm at Doodlakine, also in the WA wheat belt. Peter completed his primary schooling

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WALTERS, Mary Shirley (1925–2017)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1975–93 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

WALTERS, Mary Shirley (1925–2017)
Senator for Tasmania, 1975–93 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Mary Shirley Harrison (known as Shirley) was born in Sydney on 31 August 1925, the second of three daughters of Eric John and Mary Cook Harrison, née McCall. She and her two sisters grew up at the family home in the Sydney suburb of Rose Bay. Shirley had a comfortable childhood—her father was a successful businessman, managing a large textile factory, and in 1931

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WARD, Frederick Furner (1872–1954)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

WARD, Frederick Furner (1872–1954)
Senator for South Australia, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)

Frederick Furner Ward, businessman, socialist, union official and Labor functionary, earned several distinctions throughout his long and busy life. Dogged and loyal, he tried unsuccessfully to win a seat in Parliament for the Labor Party in South Australia for nearly forty years (1909–46). For most of that time he was active in the state branch of the party in one or other capacity, including

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WATSON, David (1870–1924)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1914–17 (Labor Party)</span>

WATSON, David (1870–1924)
Senator for New South Wales, 1914–17 (Labor Party)

David Watson’s Baptist upbringing in a Scottish mining town, may well account for his work as miner, union official and temperance activist, and for his refusal in Parliament to exchange principle for political expediency. Watson was born on 14 February 1870 at Shawfield, Rutherglen, Scotland, the son of John, a miner, and Jane, née Marshall. The young David was working by the age of

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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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WEST, Suzanne Margaret (1947– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1987, 1990–2002 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

WEST, Suzanne Margaret (1947– )
Senator for New South Wales, 1987, 1990–2002 (Australian Labor Party)

Suzanne Margaret (Sue) West was born 21 September 1947, the daughter of Edna May, née Bennett, and her husband Timothy Henry (Tim) West, a grazier from Cowra. Tim was an unsuccessful ALP candidate at four state elections between 1976 and 1984 but earned an OAM for his services to the Cowra community. Sue was indelibly shaped by her local community. Living fifteen miles from

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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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WHEELWRIGHT, Thomas Clive (1953– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1995–96 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

WHEELWRIGHT, Thomas Clive (1953– )
Senator for New South Wales, 1995–96 (Australian Labor Party)

Thomas Clive (Tom) Wheelwright was chosen on 25 May 1995 by the New South Wales Parliament in accordance with section 15 of the Australian Constitution to fill a Senate vacancy created by the resignation of Stephen Loosley. He was a senator for thirteen months, the balance of Loosley’s term, and for most of this time his own party, the ALP, was in government. Wheelwright

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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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WILSON, Sir Keith Cameron (1900–1987)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1938–44 (United Australia Party)</span>

WILSON, Sir Keith Cameron (1900–1987)
Senator for South Australia, 1938–44 (United Australia Party)

Keith Cameron (K. C.) Wilson was born on 3 September 1900 at East Adelaide, South Australia, to Algernon Theodore King Wilson and his wife, Lillian Charlotte, née Laurence. Keith Cameron’s great-grandfather, Thomas Wilson, who migrated to South Australia from England, was a solicitor, as were his grandfather and father. K. C. himself, and his two sons, would enter the law. The family were also staunch

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WITHERS, Reginald Greive (1924–2014)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1966, 1968–87 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

WITHERS, Reginald Greive (1924–2014)
Senator for Western Australia, 1966, 1968–87 (Liberal Party of Australia)

As Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Reg Withers was at the centre of events leading to the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, on 11 November 1975. Withers marshalled a slim majority of non-government senators to vote to defer the passage of appropriation legislation, and held them firm against doubts and growing turmoil during October and

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WOOD, Ian Alexander Christie (1901–1992)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1950–78 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

WOOD, Ian Alexander Christie (1901–1992)
Senator for Queensland, 1950–78 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Ian Alexander Christie Wood, travel agent, environmentalist and notable Senate committee chairman, was born on 31 January 1901 in Mackay, Queensland, the first child of John Wood, a bookkeeper, and Annie, née Christie, a Scottish immigrant. John deserted the family shortly before the birth of Wood’s sister in 1903. Annie, who had been a cook before her marriage, took in dressmaking. More than once

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WOODLEY, John (1938– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1993–2001 (Australian Democrats)</span>

WOODLEY, John (1938– )
Senator for Queensland, 1993–2001 (Australian Democrats)

In her valedictory speech after John Woodley’s retirement from the Senate, Australian Democrats Senator Vicki Bourne suggested that he had always followed the advice of Proverbs 25:21 to comfort enemies with food and drink. It was natural that Senator Bourne should turn to the Bible in speaking of Senator Woodley, a Uniting Church minister who was sometimes called ‘Rev’ by his parliamentary colleagues. John

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WORDSWORTH, Robert Hurley (1894–1984)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1950–59 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

WORDSWORTH, Robert Hurley (1894–1984)
Senator for Tasmania, 1950–59 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Robert Hurley Wordsworth, army officer, civil administrator and farmer, who confessed to entering politics as an ‘afterthought’, was born on 21 July 1894 at Collarenebri, New South Wales, son of William Henry Wordsworth, storekeeper, and Robena, née Walker.[1] William later became a pastoralist in the Cowra district. Robert was educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School (1908-10), where he was a military cadet.

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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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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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ZAKHAROV, Alice Olive (1929–1995)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1983–95 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

ZAKHAROV, Alice Olive (1929–1995)
Senator for Victoria, 1983–95 (Australian Labor Party)

Throughout her life Olive Zakharov was a grassroots campaigner for human rights and social justice. She eschewed personal publicity and political advancement in favour of promoting the causes and issues that she believed in. Born in Kew, Melbourne, on 19 March 1929, Alice Olive Hay was the youngest of four daughters of Robert and Alice Anderson Hay, née Dobie. Scottish-born Robert Hay was a

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ZEAL, Sir William Austin (1830–1912)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1901–06 (Protectionist)</span>

ZEAL, Sir William Austin (1830–1912)
Senator for Victoria, 1901–06 (Protectionist)

William Zeal was born on 5 December 1830 at Westbury, Wiltshire, England, the son of Thomas Zeal, a wine merchant and his wife Ann, née Greenland. Zeal was educated privately at schools in Westbury and Windsor, obtaining a diploma as a surveyor and engineer in 1851. In 1852, he migrated to Australia and headed straight to the Victorian goldfields. He worked for some two

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