Sir David John Gordon (4 May 1865 – 12 February 1946) was an Australian 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 o ...

from 1911 to 1913, before going into state politics and becoming a member of the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the South Australian House of Assembly, ...

from 1913 to 1944 (president from 1932). He was briefly Minister of Education and Minister of Repatriation under SA Premier Archibald Peake in 1917.

Early life

Born in

Riverton, South Australia Riverton is a small town in the Mid North of South Australia, in the Gilbert Valley. It is situated on the Gilbert River, from which the town derives its name. Both the Gilbert Valley and Gilbert River were named after South Australian pioneer ...

, the son of a Thomas Gordon, Scottish carpenter, miller and farmer, Gordon was educated at Stanley Grammar School, Watervale before his family moved to

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the ' Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

Yorke Peninsula The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located northwest and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula is separated from Kangaroo Island to the south by Investigator Str ...

where he worked on the family farm. Gordon moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and worked as a grain merchant. He became a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

of the Congregational Church, and met Anna Louise Peel, a pianist at his local church, whom he married on 4 April 1888. Later that year he joined the '' South Australian Register'', with whom he was employed for about 20 years, initially in their Port Adelaide office, then progressed through the ranks as commercial and financial editor and chief of the reporting staff, and agricultural editor of ''

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'' (where he sometimes wrote under the pseudonym "Wuronga"), and contributed leading articles to both papers. He was in the

press gallery {{Short description, Parliamentary reporters The press gallery is the part of a parliament, or other legislative body, where political journalists are allowed to sit or gather to observe and then report speeches and events. This is generally one of ...

of the Legislative Council and the

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for 17 years, and for 10 years was chief of the ''

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'' staff. As "

Timoleon Timoleon ( Greek: Τιμολέων), son of Timodemus, of Corinth (c. 411–337 BC) was a Greek statesman and general. As a brilliant general, a champion of Greece against Carthage, and a fighter against despotism, he is closely connected ...

", he contributed the "City Scratchings" column in ''

The Kapunda Herald ''The Kapunda Herald'' was a newspaper published in Kapunda, South Australia from 29 October 1864 to 25 January 1951. From 1864 to 1878 the masthead was subtitled ''"and Northern Intelligencer"''. It was published weekly, except for the period Feb ...

'' from 1901 to 1909. He was invited to accompany

Clement Giles Clement Giles (22 February 1844 – 19 July 1926) was an Australian politician who represented the South Australian House of Assembly multi-member seat of Frome from 1887 to 1902. He joined the National Defence League ahead of the 1893 election ...

on his expedition to central Australia, riding on horseback. On his return journey he interviewed Lord Kintore, who was returning from

Port Darwin Port Darwin is the port in Darwin, Northern Territory, in northern Australia. The port has operated in a number of locations, including Stokes Hill Wharf, Cullen Bay and East Arm Wharf. In 2015, a 99-year lease was granted to the Chinese-owned ...

, at

Charlotte Waters Charlotte Waters was a tiny settlement in the Northern Territory of Australia located close to the South Australian border, not far from Aputula. It was known for its telegraph station, the Charlotte Waters Telegraph Station, which became a hu ...

, and accompanied him to Adelaide. Returning from the trek, Gordon became an enthusiastic supporter of the development of central Australia, writing numerous books and articles on the subject over the next twenty years, including ''The Central State'' and ''The 'Nile' of Australia''. Additionally, Gordon edited several editions of the annual ''Handbook of South Australia''. Gordon regularly advocated for the improvement of the farming and pastoral industries in South Australia, as well as transportation throughout the state. His level of influence was such that he was able to persuade the government to establish a freezing works at Port Adelaide.

Federal politics

Involved in

liberal politics Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

, Gordon unsuccessfully stood as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate for the Senate at the 1910 election, before his election as a member of 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 ...

at the 1911 Boothby by-election following the death of

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 ...

incumbent

Lee Batchelor Egerton Lee Batchelor (10 April 1865 – 8 October 1911) was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was a pioneer of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in South Australia, which at the time was known as the United Labor Party (ULP). He w ...

. In parliament Gordon was a vocal supporter of the development of South and central Australia and was a member of the Royal Commission on the fruit industry. In August 1913 he was elected president of the

Australian Liberal Union 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 Fus ...

State politics

Gordon lost his seat at the 1913 federal election, but switched to state politics and was elected to the

in 1913. Gordon was appointed Minister for Education and Repatriation by Premier Archibald Peake in July 1917 but resigned the next month, in protest at the Commonwealth Liberal Party's coalition with the

Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party, also known as the National Party, was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the latter formed by Prime Min ...

, and rejected further offers of ministerial posts from Peake. Gordon became party leader in the council in 1918 and

president of the South Australian Legislative Council The president of the South Australian Legislative Council is the presiding officer of the South Australian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of South Australia. The other presiding officer is the speaker of the South Australia ...

from 1932 until his retirement from politics in 1944. He was made 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 th ...

in 1925, and in 1927 chaired the Australian delegation to the International Economic Conference,

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. He served variously as president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Australia, the

Adelaide Chamber of Commerce , merged = , successor = , formation = {{start date and age, 1839, df=y , founder = , founding_location = , extinction = , merger = {{plain list, * South Australian E ...

, and president of the South Australian branch of

Toc H Toc H (also TH) is an international Christian movement. The name is an abbreviation for Talbot House, "Toc" signifying the letter T in the signals spelling alphabet used by the British Army in World War I. A soldiers' rest and recreation centre ...

and the Sailors' and Soldiers' Fathers' Association. He was also a director of numerous companies.

Personal life

Referred to as "a highly principled man with a strong personality", Gordon died at his home in Victoria Avenue,

Unley Park, South Australia Unley Park is a southern suburb of Adelaide in the City of Unley. Its postcode is 5061. It is located on the north side of Cross Road and east of the Belair railway line. Access via public transport is from the Unley Park railway station, Mi ...

, survived by two sons and two daughters (his wife predeceasing him by 12 years). One son,

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, served in the Legislative Council while the second,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, was a pilot who was awarded the

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World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Bibliography

*Gordon, David John ''Our Undeveloped Territory: Through Central Australia and Northern Territory'' *Gordon, David John ''The Gateway of the Interior: How to Utilise Australia's Great Waterways'' (1902) *Gordon, David John ''The Central State: Its Progress and Resources'' (1903) *Gordon, David John ''The Nile of Australia: Nature's Gateway to the Interior'' (1906) ** *Gordon, David John ''Conquering the Desert: Conservation, Reclamation, Irrigation'' (1907) *Gordon, David John ''Handbook of South Australia'' (officially used by the Government. 1908) *Gordon, David John ''Official Year Book of S.A.'' (prepared under the authority of the Government, 1912 and 1913) *Gordon, David John ''Wealth and Waste'' (paper read before Chamber of Manufactures, 1912) *Gordon, David John and Ryan, Victor H. (eds.) ''Handbook of South Australia'' (prepared for the British Association for the Advancement of Science 1914)** *Gordon, David John ''The Aftermath: Making Good War's Wastage'' (1916) *Gordon, David John ''Problems of Transportation: the Joseph Fisher Commercial Lecture before the University of Adelaide'' (1914) *Gordon, David John ''The Livestock Industry of Australia'' (paper read before the first conference of Australian meat exporters, Sydney 1916) ** Copy held by Flinders University Library.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, David John 1865 births 1946 deaths Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Liberal and Country League politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Boothby Australian Knights Bachelor Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Presidents of the South Australian Legislative Council 20th-century Australian politicians South Australian politicians Australian people of Scottish descent