Alexander William Taylor (23 October 1906 – 15 June 1976) was an Australian politician. He was born in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

to cutter Albert Alexander Taylor and Annie Barbara Turner. He attended

Melbourne Technical College RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scienc ...

, and worked as a jackeroo and a ham and bacon curer. On 23 May 1936 he married Enid Mary Robertson, with whom he had five children. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and attained the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He was awarded the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the Auxiliary Military Forces, was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time officers after twe ...

, and in 1944 commenced work with Commonwealth Food Control. From 1946 he was export and sales manager for Boston Canning Company, becoming a director in 1949 before beginning his own import/export business in 1950. From 1953 to 1955 he was on the state executive of the

Liberal and Country Party The Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division), branded as Liberal Victoria, and commonly known as the Victorian Liberals, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1949 as ...

, and in 1955 he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

as the member for

Balwyn Balwyn () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Balwyn recorded a population of 13,495 at the 2021 census. Whitehor ...

. He did not attain a ministerial position, and was known as a prominent critic of party leader and premier Sir Henry Bolte. Taylor lost preselection for his seat in 1973 and retired from politics, becoming a farmer at

Metung Metung is a town in East Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The town is east of the state capital Melbourne and between the larger towns of Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance. It is on a small peninsula south-east of Bairnsdale, separating Lak ...

. He died in 1976 at

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Alex 1906 births 1976 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly 20th-century Australian politicians