Alexander Hay (8 January 1865 – 8 May 1941) was a New Zealand-born Australian pastoralist, businessman and politician. He was a member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

from 1919 to 1922, representing the electorate of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

for the Nationalist Party (1919–1920), Country Party (1920–1921) and as an independent (1921–1922). Hay was born at

Parua Bay Parua Bay is a locality and bay on the northern side of the Whangarei Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. Whangarei is 19 km to the west, and Whangarei Heads are 10 km to the south east, with Munro Bay between the two. The western he ...

in New Zealand and was educated at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. He migrated to Australia in 1893 and visited England for the purposes of importing cattle in 1894. His brother, Sir John Hay, had inherited the substantial Berry Estate and

Coolangatta Estate The Coolangatta Estate at Coolangatta, near Shoalhaven Heads was established in 1822 by Alexander Berry on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Coolangatta Estate is located on the northern bank of the Shoalhaven River, in the footh ...

following the death of his cousin, David Berry, and in 1895 Alexander Hay joined his brother in managing the estates. They undertook a significant development project which saw about 400 freeholders settled onto the land, while retaining the Coolangatta Homestead as their own. Along with his brother, he was heavily involved in the development of the Berry Central Butter Factory. Hay subsequently undertook successful investments in pastoral properties in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, which he in turn invested into mining concerns in New South Wales, including the Mount Royal Copper Mine, and rubber interests in the

Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the first federal election for

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

() at the 1903 Glen Innes by-election () for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, and again in the 1914 election for Hunter (

Commonwealth Liberal Party The Liberal Party was a parliamentary party in Australian federal politics between 1909 and 1917. The party was founded under Alfred Deakin's leadership as a merger of the Protectionist Party and Anti-Socialist Party, an event known as the Fu ...

). Hay enlisted for service in World War I in October 1915 in the 2nd Remount Unit and was posted to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

; he was promoted to major during his deployment and returned to Australia in 1916. At the 1919 election, he was elected to 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 ...

as a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

, representing the seat of

. He had also been endorsed by the Farmers and Settlers' Association, and joined the Country Party when it was formed in 1920. His tendency to vote against his party resulted in his expulsion in October 1921 after he saved the

Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...

Nationalist government from defeat by voting against a Country Party censure motion. He contested the 1922 federal election as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

but was unsuccessful. He retired from politics and returned to his farming and business interests after his 1922 defeat. He died at Coolangatta Estate in 1941.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Alexander 1865 births 1941 deaths People educated at Auckland Grammar School Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for New England Members of the Australian House of Representatives National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians New Zealand emigrants to Australia Australian military personnel of World War I