David Oliver Watkins (10 July 1896 – 17 December 1971) was an Australian politician. He was an

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 the f ...

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 of the ...

from 1935 until 1958, representing the electorate of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Watkins was born in

Wallsend, New South Wales Wallsend is a western suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area. Origins The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are acknowledged by City of N ...

, the son of long-serving federal Newcastle MP David Watkins, and was educated at Cook's Hill Public School. He worked as a

woolclasser Wool classing is the production of uniform, predictable, low-risk lines of wool, carried out by examining the characteristics of the wool in its raw state and classing (grading) it accordingly. Wool classing is done by a wool classer. Basis for ...

until 1915, when he enlisted for service in

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 ...

. He embarked in February 1916 and served with the 1st Mounted Wireless Signals in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

, but he became seriously ill with

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

later that year and returned to Australia in February 1917. He was later reported to have worked in the steel industry, and he was working as a storeman at the time of his election to parliament. Watkins was elected to the House of Representatives at a 1935 by-election for the seat of

following the death of his father. He defeated

Lang Labor Lang Labor was a faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) consisting of the supporters of Jack Lang, who served two terms as Premier of New South Wales and was the party's state leader from 1923 to 1939. Following the expulsion of the N ...

candidate and former state MP James Smith by over 2,000 votes. In parliament, Watkins served on a series of committees as a member of the Printing Committee from 1937 to 1940, the House Committee from 1940 to 1951, the Prices and Profits Committee in 1941, deputy chairman of the Australian Soldiers Repatriation Act Committee from 1942 to 1943, deputy chairman of the Broadcasting Committee from 1943 to 1949, and a member of the Public Works Committee from 1950 to 1954. He was also temporary chairman of committees from 1940 to 1954. In 1940, at the age of 44, Watkins enlisted 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 ...

with the

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

, seeking to be engaged in administrative work at home or overseas. In 1943, he led an Australian delegation to Great Britain and Canada at the invitation of the Empire Parliamentary Association. He held the seat until his retirement due to ill health in 1958 following several months of sick leave. Watkins purchased a home in

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in July 1956 and retired there after his retirement from parliament in 1958. He died in 1971.

References

Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Newcastle Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1896 births 1971 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians Australian people of Welsh descent {{Australia-Labor-representative-stub