Back to homepage

Browsing: Tag "Geoffrey Browne"

MISSEN, Alan Joseph (1925–1986)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1974–86 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

MISSEN, Alan Joseph (1925–1986)
Senator for Victoria, 1974–86 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Alan Missen, law reformer and a champion of civil liberties at home and abroad, was an exemplary parliamentarian whose impact on political life was far out of proportion to his backbench status. Alan Joseph Missen was born in the Melbourne suburb of Kew on 22 July 1925, the only child of Clifford Athel Missen, a moulder, and (Ethel) Violet Maud Missen, née Bartley. Alan’s

Read Full Article▸
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

Read Full Article▸
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

Read Full Article▸
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

Read Full Article▸
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

Read Full Article▸
MURPHY, Lionel Keith (1922–1986)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1962–75 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MURPHY, Lionel Keith (1922–1986)
Senator for New South Wales, 1962–75 (Australian Labor Party)

Lionel Keith Murphy was the most divisive figure in the history of the Senate. His supporters saw him as inspirational: an enlightened and bold reformer whose unceasing mental and physical energy achieved much of permanent value. Opponents regarded him as dangerous, reckless and lacking in fundamental political nous. Doubts about Murphy’s judgment were also held privately by some members of his own party. Years

Read Full Article▸
CUNNINGHAM, James (1879–1943)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1937–43 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

CUNNINGHAM, James (1879–1943)
Senator for Western Australia, 1937–43 (Australian Labor Party)

James Cunningham was born on 28 December 1879 at Wirrabara, South Australia, the son of James Cunningham, a stonemason and farmer, and his wife Catherine, née Herring, domestic servant. Young Jimmy had little formal education. From 1899 he was a prospector and goldminer, working at Norseman until 1905, and then at Boulder and Kalgoorlie. Fifteen years in the mines left him with a legacy

Read Full Article▸
TURLEY, Joseph Henry Lewis (1859–1929)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1904–17 (Labor Party)</span>

TURLEY, Joseph Henry Lewis (1859–1929)
Senator for Queensland, 1904–17 (Labor Party)

Joseph Henry Lewis (Harry) Turley, wharf labourer, trade unionist and first Labor President of the Senate, was born on 24 April 1859 at Burton St Michael, Gloucester, England, the son of Charles Turley, master shoemaker, and his wife, Agnes (Susan), née Oliver. Harry was educated at Brixham, Devonshire. He went to sea, arriving in Brisbane in 1879, and worked there as a wharf labourer.

Read Full Article▸

Related links