Herbert Claude Barnard (16 October 18906 December 1957) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
(ALP) and represented the
Division of Bass
The Division of Bass is an Australian electoral division in Tasmania.
Geography
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian ...
in federal parliament from 1934 to 1949. He served as
Minister for Repatriation in the
Chifley Government from 1946 to 1949. His son
Lance Barnard
Lance Herbert Barnard AO (1 May 19196 August 1997) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1974 and held senior ministerial office in the Whitlam Government, most no ...
also entered federal politics and served as
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
The deputy prime minister of Australia is the deputy chief executive and the second highest ranking officer of the Australian Government. The office of deputy prime minister was officially created as a ministerial portfolio in 1968, althoug ...
in the 1970s.
Early life
Barnard was born at
Mole Creek
Mole Creek is a town in the upper Mersey Valley, in the central north of Tasmania, Australia. Mole Creek is well known for its honey and accounts for about 35 percent of Tasmania's honey production.
The locality is in the Meander Valley Coun ...
,
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and was educated at
Invermay
Invermay () is a diffuse settlement in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is situated approximately 2 km southeast of Forteviot on the Water of May, some 8 km southwest of Perth.
Before the mid 15th century, it was known as ''Innermeat ...
State School, but left school at 14. In 1909 he began working for
Tasmanian Government Railways
The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian Na ...
, first as an engine cleaner and eventually as a driver. In March 1912 he married Martha Melva McKenzie and they raised three sons and a daughter in
East Launceston. In 1920 he helped found the
Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen
The Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees (AFULE) is an Australian trade union representing railway workers. It was formerly a national union which largely merged into the Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union in 1992; however, ...
.
Federal politics
Barnard stood unsuccessfully at the
1931 election as the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
candidate for the seat of
Bass in 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 o ...
. In 1933, he became state secretary of the party and at the
1934 election he won Bass. From 1941 to 1946, he was chairman of the joint parliamentary committee on social security, which developed much of the
Curtin and
Chifley governments' social policy agenda. In November 1946, he was appointed
Minister for Repatriation in the
second Chifley Ministry. Although one of his sons was killed in the war and the other two were injured, he was under constant attack from service organisations and others for not delivering more for war veterans and, like his predecessor,
Charles Frost, in 1946, he lost his seat at the
1949 election.
[
]
Later life
In 1950, Barnard was elected to represent 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 ...
division of Bass
The Division of Bass is an Australian electoral division in Tasmania.
Geography
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian ...
and held it until his death in 1957. He died of cancer in Launceston Public Hospital, survived by his wife and two sons, one of whom, Lance Barnard
Lance Herbert Barnard AO (1 May 19196 August 1997) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1974 and held senior ministerial office in the Whitlam Government, most no ...
, was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
The deputy prime minister of Australia is the deputy chief executive and the second highest ranking officer of the Australian Government. The office of deputy prime minister was officially created as a ministerial portfolio in 1968, althoug ...
1972–74.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnard, Herbert Claude
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bass
Members of the Cabinet of Australia
Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly
Australian trade unionists
1890 births
1957 deaths
20th-century Australian politicians
Train drivers