Arthur Dalgety Bridges, (19 November 1901 – 22 May 1968) was an Australian Chartered accountant, company director and politician. He was a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

for the 22 years from 1946 to 1968 representing the

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 ...

, becoming Leader of the New South Wales Opposition in the Legislative Council from 1962 until 1965. He served as Leader of the Government in the council as well as on the Askin cabinet as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Child and Social Welfare from 1965 to his death in office in 1968.

Early years and background

Arthur Dalgety Bridges was born in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1901, the son of schoolteacher Frederick Bridges and Ivy May Campbell. After being educated at Fort Street Boy's High School, Bridges worked for his brother on a citrus farm near

Yenda, New South Wales Yenda is a town in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located about east of Griffith, north-west of Narrandera, and west of Sydney in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of southern New South Wales. Although mo ...

. After qualifying as an accountant in 1924, Bridges rose to be a Fellow of the

Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (the institute) was the professional accounting body representing Chartered Accountants in Australia before it merged with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants to become Charter ...

(FCA) and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries. Bridges also became established in his own firm, Bridges and Steel (later A.D Bridges & Co). Becoming recognised as a leading financial adviser, Bridges served as a director of numerous companies in a variety of areas. He married Rachel Duckworth on 2 November 1929 and had a daughter and a son.

Political career

A committed

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 ...

, Bridges would eventually become treasurer of Presbyterian church of New South Wales and a National Councillor from 1927 until 1932. Through this, Bridges joined the conservative

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 ...

and its successor, the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. As a councillor in both parties, Bridges was a member of the committee which established

in 1945–46. Initially serving as a councillor, Bridges rose to be New South Wales vice-president and a Federal Councillor from 1946 until 1965. Bridges was elected to the indirectly elected

on 14 March 1946 and took his seat on 23 April 1946. Bridges eventually replaced

Hector Clayton Major Sir Hector Joseph Richard Clayton, ED (3 June 188518 July 1975) was an Australian politician, solicitor and soldier. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council for 36 years from 1937 to 1973 representing the Liberal Party ...

as Liberal leader in the Council in 1962, thereby becoming Leader of the New South Wales Opposition in the Legislative Council. He served thus until May 1962, when Liberal leader

Robert Askin Sir Robert William Askin, GCMG (4 April 1907 – 9 September 1981), was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but ...

led the Liberal/Country Coalition to victory at the 1965 election. As the now Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council, Bridges was sworn into the cabinet as

Vice-President of the Executive Council The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executiv ...

and as Minister for Child Welfare and Social Welfare. While in parliament, Bridges was vice-president of the Royal Blind Society an honorary secretary of Blinded Ex-serviceman's Club, a committee member of

Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

, the vice-president of

Young Men's Christian Association YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

and a fellow of Senate of

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

from 1967 until 1968. Bridges served in government until his death in office aged 66 on 22 May 1968. On his death, Premier Askin noted that he had "an apparently inexhaustible energy which was a source of wonder to all who knew him" while the leader of the opposition Labor Party,

Pat Hills Patrick Darcy Hills (31 December 1917 – 22 April 1992) was a New South Wales politician. He served in various high offices across the state most notably the Deputy Premier of New South Wales, Leader of the Opposition and as the Lord Mayor ...

, lamented: "Of all the sad occasions which have come upon this venerable House of Parliament, none was so universally felt as the news of the death of our late colleague".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Arthur 1901 births 1968 deaths Australian accountants Australian Presbyterians Businesspeople from Sydney Leaders of the Opposition in New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales People educated at Fort Street High School United Australia Party politicians 20th-century Australian politicians