Allan McKenzie McDonald, DFC (4 July 1888 – 10 June 1953) was an Australian politician who served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1940 until his death in 1953. He served as Minister for External Territories in the

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

and Fadden Governments in 1941. McDonald represented the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

until 1945, when he joined the new

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. Before entering federal politics he had previously served in 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 ...

from 1933 to 1940.

Early life

McDonald was born on 4 July 1888 in

Winchelsea, Victoria Winchelsea is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Surf Coast Shire local government area, the suburb or locality of Winchelsea is predominantly within Surf Coast Shire with a small section within the Colac Otway Shire. Winc ...

. He was the fourth child born to Elizabeth (née McKenzie) and Allan McDonald, both of whom were originally from

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. His uncle James McDonald was also a member of parliament. McDonald grew up on the family farm and attended the Winchelsea State School, subsequently working as a farm labourer and then acquiring his own property, "The Isles". His father was a member of the Winchelsea Shire Council until his death in 1914. He succeeded him on the council. McDonald married Sarah Mary Farquharson at

Birregurra Birregurra is a town on Gulidjan Country in Victoria, Australia approximately south-west of Melbourne. The town is located within the Colac Otway Shire. At the 2016 census, Birregurra had a population of 828. Birregurra is an Aboriginal word t ...

on 17 September 1913. The couple had six children together, one of whom died in 1924 at a young age.

Military service

McDonald enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in April 1916, with the rank of

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

. He left Melbourne in September aboard HMAT ''Port Sydney'', and joined the 14th Battalion in France in December. McDonald was shot in the arm during the

first attack on Bullecourt The First attack on Bullecourt (11 April 1917) was a military operation on the Western Front during the First World War. The 1st Anzac Corps of the British Fifth Army attacked in support of the Third Army, engaged in the Battle of Arras (9 A ...

in April 1917. He spent several months in hospital, but subsequently participated in the

Battle of Polygon Wood The Battle of Polygon Wood took place from 26 September to 3 October 1917, during the second phase of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle was fought near Ypres in Belgium, in the area from the Menin road to Polygon Wood a ...

and was promoted

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

. He later returned to Australia due to his injury and was discharged from the AIF in October 1918. On his journey home, he narrowly escaped being drowned when his boat was torpedoed.

Politics

McDonald continued as a councillor on Winchelsea Shire Council, and unsuccessfully contested the

seat of Corangamite in the

1919 Australian federal election The 1919 Australian federal election was held on 13 December 1919 to elect members to the Parliament of Australia. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist ...

and

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

elections, representing the Nationalist Party. He gained political experience as a

party organiser A party organizer or local party organizer is a position in some political parties in charge of the establishing a party organization in a certain locality. Herbert Ames wrote in his 1911 article "Organization of Political Parties in Canada" :"Pro ...

, and succeeded his deceased uncle

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

to the

seat of Polwarth in 1933, representing the

. Although considered a possible Victorian party leader, he resigned in 1940 to contest the federal election. McDonald was successful in winning Corangamite for the UAP in 1940. He was minister for external territories in the governments of

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

and

Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden, (13 April 189421 April 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Australia from 29 August to 7 October 1941. He was the leader of the Country Party from 1940 to 1958 and also served ...

in 1941, and contested the UAP leadership in

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

and

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

; he lost the 1941 ballot to

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

by only a single vote. McDonald was known as an advocate of benefits for returned servicemen. He joined the new Liberal Party in 1945, and was Chief Opposition Whip from 1946 to 1949. When the

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

returned to power in 1949, he stepped back from prominence, confining himself to party room discussion; this may have been due to his ill health. A devout

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

and

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

, McDonald died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on 10 June 1953 at Winchelsea, survived by his wife, four daughters, and one of his two sons. He was given a state funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Allan 1888 births 1953 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Corangamite Australian military personnel of World War I 20th-century Australian politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives