Donald Barrett (16 October 1917 – January 1973) was an Australian planter, army major, politician and sports coach in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. He served as a member of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly in two spells between 1951 and 1968.

Biography

Born in Adelaide in 1917, the son of

Charles Leslie Barrett Charles Leslie Barrett (26 June 1879 – 16 January 1959) was an Australian naturalist, journalist, author and ornithologist. Born in Hawthorn, Victoria, he was a foundation member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) in 1901 a ...

, Barrett attended

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day school, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as ...

before studying at the University of Melbourne.''The Members of the House of Assembly 1964'', p27 During World War II he served with the Second Australian Imperial Force and the

2nd New Guinea Infantry Battalion The 2nd New Guinea Infantry Battalion (2 NGIB) was a battalion of the Australian Army during World War II. One of four infantry battalions raised in New Guinea, 2 NGIB was formed in September 1944. Formed late in the war, the battalion played o ...

. After the war, Barrett settled in Papua New Guinea and ran cacao and coconut plantations.Barrett, Charles Leslie (1879–1959)
Australian Dictionary of Biography He helped found and became president of the Planters' Association of New Guinea and was a member of the Copra Marketing Board between 1949 and 1958. He also continued part-time military service, serving as a major in the

Papua New Guinea Volunteer Rifles The New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (NGVR) was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was initially raised as a unit of the Citizen Military Forces, Militia from white Australian and European expatriates in New Guinea upon the outbreak of t ...

from 1954 until 1958, as state vice-president of the Returned and Services League of Australia between 1959 and 1964, and as a recruiting officer from 1960. In 1951 he successfully contested the New Guinea Islands seat in the first elections to the Legislative Council. He was re-elected in

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

with 78% of the vote, but was defeated by

Dudley Jones Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the M ...

in the 1957 elections. He contested the New Guinea Islands seat in the

1960 elections The following elections occurred in 1960. Africa * 1960 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1960 Belgian Congo general election * 1960 Dahomeyan parliamentary election * 1960 Dahomeyan presidential election * 1960 Gambian legislative election ...

, and was returned unopposed. In the 1961 elections he won the new New Britain (European) constituency, running as a candidate of the

United Progress Party United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

. In 1963 he managed the Papua and New Guinea athletics team that competed at the first South Pacific Games. In the 1964 elections to the new House of Assembly, the first held under universal suffrage, Barrett was elected from the West Gazelle Special constituency. One of the most active members of the new legislature, he became chair of the Public Accounts Committee in 1965. Although the committee produced several lengthy reports, they made little impression.

Les Johnson Leslie Royston Johnson AM (22 November 1924 – 26 May 2015) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and held ministerial office in the Whitlam Government, serving as Minister for Housing (1972–19 ...

br>Westminster in Moresby: Papua New Guinea's House of Assembly 1964–1972
/ref> He ran for reelection in the East and West New Britain Regional constituency in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, but was heavily defeated by

Roy Ashton Howard Roy Ashton (17 April 1909 – 10 January 1995) was an Australian tenor, associated for a while with Benjamin Britten's English Opera Group, and make-up artist who became particularly associated with his work on the Hammer Horror films. B ...

.Primary count details in New Guinea election
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', April 1968, p29 In addition to territory politics, he also served on

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

Town Advisory Council, including a stint as mayor. He subsequently organised the

1969 South Pacific Games The 1969 South Pacific Games, held from 13–23 August 1969 at Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, was the third edition of the South Pacific Games. A total of 1,150 athletes participated in the games. Participating countries Twelve Pacific nations ...

that were held in Port Moresby, and became chairman of the Melanesian Tourist Federation.Mr Don Barrett
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1973, p129 Barrett died following an operation for peritonitis at Nonga Base Hospital in Rabaul in January 1973 at the age of 55.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Don 1917 births Politicians from Adelaide People educated at Caulfield Grammar School University of Melbourne alumni Australian Army personnel of World War II Papua New Guinean farmers Members of the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea Members of the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea 1973 deaths 20th-century Australian farmers