Sir Walter Angus Bethune (10 September 1908 – 22 August 2004) was an Australian politician and member of the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

. He was

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of Ta ...

from 26 May 1969 to 3 May 1972.

Early life

Bethune was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

in north-western

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, and was educated at

Launceston Grammar School (Unless the Lord is with us, our labour is in vain) , established = , type = Independent, co-educational, day & boarding , denomination = Anglican , slogan = Nurture, Challenge ...

and

The Hutchins School , motto_translation = Character lives after death , city = Hobart , state = Tasmania , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, day & boarding , de ...

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

.Former Tasmanian premier Sir Angus Bethune dies

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

, 23 August 2004. Before entering politics, Bethune worked as a jackaroo.Pearce, Garney
Bethune Memorial
, '' Stateline'' (

), 27 August 2004. On 15 August 1940, 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 ...

, he enlisted as an airman and

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

in the

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

. He married Alix (Alexandra) Perronet Pritchard of Cluny, Ouse on 30 January 1936.

Political career

Bethune was elected to the

at the 1946 general election on 23 November 1946, representing the seat of

Wilmot Wilmot may refer to: Places Australia *Division of Wilmot, an abolished Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania * Wilmot, Tasmania, a locality in the North-West Region Canada *Wilmot, Nova Scotia, an unincorporated rural community and former t ...

(now

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

) for the newly formed

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 ...

. On 19 March 1960, Bethune became

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

when the leader of the Liberal Party, Tim Jackson resigned in protest at party disunity and a lack of support for his leadership. On 7 September 1966,

Kevin Lyons Kevin Orchard Lyons (7 February 1923 – 24 May 2000) was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the seat of Darwin (later renamed Braddon). Biography Early life Born in 1923 in Hobart, he was th ...

(the son of former Premier and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...

) resigned from the state Liberal Party after a dispute over preselection, and on 15 October formed the Centre Party. In 1969, Lyons held the balance of power, and offered his support to Bethune to form government with himself as Deputy Premier. Bethune accepted. This forced

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

Premier

Eric Reece Eric Elliott Reece, AC (6 July 190923 October 1999) was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975. His 13 years as premier remains the second longest in Tasmania's history, On ...

to resign on 26 May, making Bethune the first non-Labor Premier of Tasmania in 35 years, and the first to hold the post since the main non-Labor party in Tasmania adopted the Liberal banner in 1946. He also served as his own Treasurer. During his term as Premier, Bethune introduced a number of important initiatives, although he had pledged to avoid "revolutionary changes". Bethune's government introduced random

breath tests A breath test is a type of test performed on air generated from the act of exhalation. Types include: *Breathalyzer – by far the most common usage of this term relates to the legal breath test to determine if a person is driving under the inf ...

to tackle

drink driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is i ...

, made the wearing of

seatbelt A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt red ...

s compulsory, set up the

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service is the government body responsible for protected areas of Tasmania on public land, such as national parks, historic sites and regional reserves. Historically it has also had responsibility for managing wildli ...

, built more schools and tightened state finances. Bethune was instrumental in the establishment of a

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official print ...

service for the Tasmanian parliament, although he was no longer Premier by the time the system was introduced. Kevin Lyons had lost a vote to introduce Hansard in 1960, and with the Bethune-Lyons coalition in power in 1969, Bethune sought a report into the feasibility of such a transcription service. The report was not completed until 1973, but Hansard was considered by Bethune's successors

and Doug Lowe until finally being implemented in 1979. In 1972, Kevin Lyons dissolved the coalition between the Centre and Liberal parties, and was highly critical of Bethune. Bethune was forced to the polls, and the instability in his government saw him lose power in the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

on a three-seat swing. Labor won a clear majority, and Reece returned as premier.

After politics

Bethune retired from politics on 30 June 1975, and later joined forces with his former rival, Eric Reece, to back the

Franklin Dam The Franklin Dam or Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of the most significant e ...

. Sir Angus died after a short illness on 22 August 2004 in

, aged 95. He was accorded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

which was held on 27 August.

Honours

Bethune was made

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

on 16 June 1979 in recognition of service to the

Parliament of Tasmania The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the Governor of Tasmania, the Tasmanian House of Assembly (the lower house), and T ...

.BETHUNE, Walter Angus
''It's an Honour'' (Australian Government). He was also awarded a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

in 2001.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bethune, Angus 1908 births 2004 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Tasmania Premiers of Tasmania Royal Australian Air Force airmen Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Australian Knights Bachelor Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Recipients of the Centenary Medal People educated at Launceston Church Grammar School Australian people of Scottish descent Leaders of the Opposition in Tasmania Treasurers of Tasmania 20th-century Australian politicians