Sir Crawford David Nalder (14 February 1910 – 8 December 1994) was an Australian politician who served as

Deputy Premier of Western Australia The deputy premier of Western Australia is a role in the Government of Western Australia assigned to a responsible Minister in the Australian state of Western Australia. It has second ranking behind the premier of Western Australia in Cabinet, ...

from 1962 to 1971. He was leader of the Country Party in Western Australia from 1962 to 1973. Nalder was born in

Katanning, Western Australia Katanning is a town located south-east of Perth, Western Australia on the Great Southern Highway. At the 2016 Australian census, 2016 census, Katanning had a population of 3,687. History The name ''Katanning'' is derived from the native name ...

. A farmer, he was elected to Legislative Assembly at the 1947 state election, winning the seat of Wagin. He switched to the seat of Katanning at the 1950 election. Having served as the party's deputy leader since 1956, Nalder replaced Arthur Watts as leader of the Country Party in 1962. He maintained the existing coalition with 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 ...

(led by

David Brand Sir David Brand KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1945 to 1975, and also the 19th and longest-serving Premi ...

), with the Brand government eventually being defeated at the 1971 election. Nalder retired from parliament in 1974 and was knighted later that year.

Early life

Nalder was born in Katanning, a small town in

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 ...

's Great Southern region, to Janet (née Painter) and Henry Arthur Nalder. He received his early education from state schools in Colanilling, Ballaying, and Bonnie Doon, but boarded at Wesley College,

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 ...

, for his final two years of schooling. After graduating in 1925, Nalder returned to the country, farming at Wagin. From 1932, he served as a

lay preacher Lay preacher is a preacher or a religious proclaimer who is not a formally ordained cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presidi ...

in the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

. In October 1936, whilst travelling on the Perth–Wagin Road with two of his brothers, he received a severe concussion after their truck overturned. During

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 ...

, Nalder enlisted in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

, serving as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the 10th Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps.

Politics

A long-time member of the Country Party, Nalder stood for the Legislative Assembly seat of Wagin in the 1947 state elections, and was elected over two other Country Party candidates and one Labor Party candidate. The electoral district of Wagin was abolished in a redistribution prior to the 1950 state elections, and Nalder successfully contested Katanning, which had been vacated following the decision of Arthur Watts, the leader of the party, to move to

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

. He would hold Katanning until his retirement in 1974, on occasion being re-elected unopposed. Following Labor's defeat in the 1959 state elections, Nalder was named Minister for Agriculture in the Brand–Watts Ministry, a position he held from 2 April 1959 through to 3 March 1971. From 12 April 1962, he was also Minister for Electricity. Nalder had been elected deputy leader of the Country Party in 1956, replacing

Lindsay Thorn Lindsay Thorn (7 June 1891 – 13 July 1971) was an Australian politician who was a Country Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1930 to 1959, representing the seat of Toodyay. He was a minister in the governmen ...

, and on Watts' retirement in February 1962, succeeded him as the party's leader (and deputy premier to

). He remained a member of cabinet in the reconstituted Brand–Nalder Ministry until the defeat of the Liberal–Country coalition at the 1971 election, and continued in parliament until the 1974 election.

Later life

On 15 June 1974, following his retirement, Nalder was created a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

. He eventually retired to

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

(a suburb of Perth), dying there in December 1994 (aged 84). Nalder's son,

Cambell Nalder Cambell Crawford Nalder (20 December 1937 – 14 March 1987) was an Australian politician who served as a National Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1986 to 1987, representing the seat of Narrogin. The son of ...

, served as member for Narrogin from 1986 until his death the following year, and a grandson,

Dean Nalder Dean Cambell Nalder (born 5 February 1966) is an Australian former politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia for the Liberal Party from 2013 to 2021, representing the seat of Alfred Cove until 2017, and Batem ...

, was elected as the

member for Alfred Cove, and later member for

Bateman Bateman may refer to: Places *Bateman, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Australia **Electoral district of Bateman, an electorate of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, centred on the suburb *Batemans Bay, a town and bay in New South W ...

. A granddaughter, Karen Middleton, is the chief political correspondent for

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covering federal politics in the

Canberra Press Gallery The Canberra Press Gallery, officially called the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, is the name given to the approximately 180 journalists and their support staff, including producers, editors and camera crews, who report the workings of the A ...

.MacDonald, Janine (1997)
New Bureau Chief
– ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

''. Published 27 September 1997. Retrieved 3 April 2013.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nalder, Crawford 1910 births 1994 deaths Australian farmers Australian Knights Bachelor Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Australian Methodists Volunteer Defence Corps soldiers Australian people of English descent Deputy Premiers of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People educated at Wesley College, Perth People from Katanning, Western Australia National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Energy Ministers of Western Australia