Arthur Valentine Rutherford Abbott (14 February 1892 – 10 October 1975) was an Australian lawyer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of

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 ...

from 1939 to 1956. He was a minister in the government of Sir

Ross McLarty Sir Duncan Ross McLarty, (17 March 1891 – 22 December 1962) was an Australian politician and the 17th Premier of Western Australia. Early life McLarty was born in Pinjarra, Western Australia, the youngest of seven children of Edward McLarty, ...

, including as

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 ...

from 1948 to 1953.

Early life

Abbott was born in

Broken Hill, New South Wales Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

, but raised in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, where he attended

Hale School Hale School is an independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Named after the school founded by Bishop Mathew Blagden Hale in 1858, Hale School claims to b ...

. He completed his secondary education at

Melbourne Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denominatio ...

, as a boarder. Abbott enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in May 1916, and served with the Australian Field Artillery and the

Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...

, reaching the rank of lieutenant by the war's end. In 1919, he briefly studied at the

Council of Legal Education The Council of Legal Education (CLE) was an English supervisory body established by the four Inns of Court to regulate and improve the legal education of barristers within England and Wales. History The Council was established in 1852 by the Inns ...

in London, completing his

articles of clerkship Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public we ...

the following year.Arthur Valentine Rutherford Abbott
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 20 May 2016.

Politics

Abbott first stood for parliament at the 1936 state election, when he unsuccessfully ran for the Nationalist Party in the seat of Mount Hawthorn. He was defeated by the sitting

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 labour ...

member, Harry Millington. At the 1939 state election, Abbott won the seat of North Perth, defeating a sitting member from his own party,

James MacCallum Smith James MacCallum Smith (26 April 1868 – 6 August 1939) was an Australian politician, newspaper proprietor and stock breeder. He lobbied unsuccessfully for many years for the secession of Western Australia from the Federation of Australia. Bio ...

. He joined 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 ...

upon its formation in 1945, and after its victory at the 1947 election was made Chief Secretary and Minister for Fisheries in the new ministry formed by Ross McLarty. After a ministerial reshuffle in January 1948, Abbott replaced

Ross McDonald Sir Robert Ross McDonald Queen's Counsel, QC (25 January 1888 – 25 March 1964) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1933 to 1950, represen ...

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 ...

and was replaced as Chief Secretary by

Hubert Parker Hubert Stanley Wyborn Parker DSO VD (16 October 1883—26 July 1966) was an Australian politician who represented the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of North-East Fremantle from 1930 until 1933, and one of the three Legisla ...

. He retained the attorney-generalship and the fisheries portfolio until the government's defeat at the 1953 election, but also held a third portfolio throughout that time, which varied – he was

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 1948 to 1949, Minister for Prices from 1949 to 1950, and Minister for Police from 1950 to 1953. Following an electoral redistribution which made North Perth a marginal seat, Abbott had transferred to the new seat of Mount Lawley at the 1950 state election. He held Mount Lawley until being defeated by Edward Oldfield (an "Independent Liberal") at the 1956 election.

Later life

After leaving parliament, Abbott returned to his law firm. he died in Perth in 1975, aged 83. He was married twice, firstly to Daphne Marmion in 1918, with whom he had a son. He was divorced in 1929, and remarried in 1934 to Olive Carlyle, with whom he had a son and a daughter. His first wife was a daughter of

William Marmion William Edward Marmion (22 October 1845 – 4 July 1896) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1870 to 1890, and a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1890 to 18 ...

, who was also a member of parliament.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Arthur 1892 births 1975 deaths Attorneys-General of Western Australia Australian Army officers Australian military personnel of World War I Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from Broken Hill, New South Wales People educated at Hale School People educated at Melbourne Grammar School 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Flying Corps officers