Sir Arthur Frederick Griffith (22 April 1913 – 17 November 1982) was an Australian politician, and a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

from 1950 until 1953 representing the seat of

Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...

, and a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

representing the

Suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

and North Metropolitan provinces from 1953 until 1977. He served as President of the Legislative Council from May 1974 until May 1977.

Biography

Griffith was born in

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, to George Griffith, a life insurance inspector, and Flora (née McDonald). He was educated at South Perth Primary School and at Perth Boys School. He left in 1928 at the age of 15 to take up a job in insurance, and in 1933, he became a law clerk. On 24 June 1940, he enlisted in the

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

for service in

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 ...

. On 13 July 1940 at St Albans Church in

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

, he married Gweneth Macaulay, with whom he later had one daughter. In 1941, he was commissioned from the ranks, and served in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

as a Flying Officer for four weeks in late 1944. He was discharged on 5 November 1945. Upon his return to civilian life, he became a political organiser 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 ...

, and at the 1950 state election, he won the seat of

in the Legislative Assembly. However, at the following election in February 1953, he lost it to

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 ...

Colin Jamieson Colin John Jamieson, AO JP (26 May 1923 – 27 March 1990), was a politician in Western Australia. A member of the Labor Party, he served as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1953 until 1986, as the Minister for Wo ...

. At a by-election four months later, he won one of the two Suburban Province seats in the Legislative Council, and served as a party whip and a member of the Library Committee, before becoming deputy chairman of committees in 1956. From 16 June 1958, he was 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 ...

's most senior member in the Council. Upon the election of the Brand-Watts government at the 1959 election, he became Minister for Mines and Housing in the new government. Upon Arthur Watts's retirement as Deputy Premier and

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

on 1 February 1962, the Coalition had no lawyers amongst its ranks, so the Attorney-General role lapsed and Griffith became Minister for Justice, relying on his clerical training. He continued in these roles as well as Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council until the Government's defeat at the 1971 election. In 1974, with 21 years' service to that chamber, he became the Father of the Legislative Council, and was elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, a role he held for the next three years until his retirement from politics. After his retirement, he served as a member of the Zoological Gardens Board from 1977 until 1982. He died on 17 November 1982 at

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) is a teaching hospital in Nedlands, Western Australia. Opened in 1958 as the Perth Chest Hospital and later named in honour of Sir Charles Gairdner, governor of Western Australia from 1951 to 1963, it is pa ...

and was cremated at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Arthur Frederick 1913 births 1982 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from Geraldton Australian Knights Bachelor Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Presidents of the Western Australian Legislative Council 20th-century Australian politicians Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force officers