William Allan Rodda (8 September 1917 – 27 May 2010) was an Australian politician who represented the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

seat of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

for the

Liberal and Country League Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

and

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 ...

from 1965 to 1985. Rodda was born in

Tumby Bay Tumby Bay is a coastal town situated on the Spencer Gulf, on the eastern coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, north of Port Lincoln. The town of Tumby Bay is the major population centre of the District Council of Tumby Bay, and the cen ...

. He served as a bomber pilot with the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

during

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 ...

. Upon his return, he took a position administering the

soldier settlement scheme Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlement ...

at Penola, and later became a sheep farmer at Naracoorte. He was elected to the House of Assembly at the 1965 election, and promoted to Cabinet in the last months of the

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...

ministry in 1970. He again served in Cabinet when his party regained power in 1979 under

David Tonkin David Oliver Tonkin AO (20 July 1929 – 2 October 2000) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of South Australia from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Bragg at the 1 ...

, most notably as Chief Secretary, which included responsibilities for police and prisons. His ministerial term saw him deal with a number of controversial issues, including introduction of random breath testing for South Australian drivers, changes to the operation of prisons in the state, and public concern around police corruption. He resigned from the ministry in 1982 and retired from parliament in 1985.

References

Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of South Australia 1917 births 2010 deaths Liberal and Country League politicians People from Tumby Bay, South Australia Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force airmen Australian World War II pilots {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub