James Donald Mathieson Dobie (28 July 1927 – 25 November 1996) was an Australian politician. He was a member of 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 ...

and served in 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 ...

for over 25 years, representing the seats of

Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...

(1966–1969) and

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

(1969–1972, 1975–1996). He was an assistant minister during the McMahon government (1971–1972). Prior to entering politics he worked for the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway, New South Wales, Broadway. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches ...

Early life

Dobie was born on 28 July 1927 in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland. He was the only child of Annie Burns (née Mathieson) and Alexander Dobie. The family moved to Australia the following year, arriving in Brisbane in February 1928. They settled in the suburb of

Newstead, Queensland Newstead is an inner northern riverside suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. At the , it had a population of 7,496. Geography Newstead is north-east of Brisbane central business district, bounded by Breakfast Creek to the north and the B ...

, and his father found work as a fitter and engineer. Dobie was educated at Ascot State School and

Brisbane Grammar School , motto_translation = Nothing Without Labour , established = 1868 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , key_people = , ci ...

. He left school in 1943 and joined the

, working in branches around Queensland. He was called up for

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

with the

Citizens Military Force The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...

in 1951 and served as a gunner with the 2nd Light Artillery Regiment. In 1953, Dobie was transferred to Melbourne where he worked in the bank's economics section. He was able to study part-time at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

and graduated

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1961. He subsequently spent a year in the United States obtaining a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. After returning to Australia he was transferred to Sydney and became manager of the bank's Sylvania branch.

Politics

Dobie was president of the Liberal Party's

Woolooware Woolooware is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woolooware is located south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire. It shares the 2230 postcode with Cronulla. Woolooware stretches ...

branch from 1964 to 1966. He was first elected to the party's state council in New South Wales in 1965 and also served terms on the state executive and as a delegate to federal council. At the 1966 federal election, Dobie was elected to 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 ...

for the

, defeating

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 labour ...

member

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 ...

for the seat of

. A redistribution ahead of the 1969 election carved the new seat of

mostly out of the more Liberal-friendly eastern portion of Hughes. The redistribution erased Dobie's majority in Hughes and gave Labor a notional eight-percent majority, turning it from a marginal Liberal seat into a fairly safe Labor seat on paper. Believing this made Hughes unwinnable—especially with Johnson priming for a rematch—Dobie transferred to Cook. This move proved prescient, as Johnson retook Hughes for Labor on a large swing while Dobie narrowly won Cook. On 20 August 1971, he was appointed Assistant Minister assisting the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, t ...

. In 1972, he was defeated by Labor's

Ray Thorburn Raymond William Thorburn (15 November 1930 – 30 January 1986) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and held the New South Wales seat of Cook in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 1975. He was ...

, but retook the seat in 1975 and was returned at every election until his retirement in 1996. He died later the same year. Dobie was the Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Representatives from 1983 to 1985. In 1993 he was the Coalition candidate for Speaker of the House of Representatives but the nomination was of a symbolic nature as the Coalition had just lost an election earlier that year and Dobie was defeated on party lines by the Labor Government's candidate Stephen Martin by a vote of 78 to 63.

Personal life

Dobie was in a long-term relationship with physician

George Burniston George Garrett Burniston (23 November 1914 – 27 June 1992) was an Australian physician who specialised in rehabilitation medicine. He had a long association with Prince of Wales Hospital (Sydney), Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney and the Univ ...

. The pair met in the 1950s and initially lived in Dobie's

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popul ...

flat, before moving to Sydney and settling in Burniston's

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney ...

apartment. Burniston died in 1992, with Dobie acknowledged in his obituary as a "life long friend and close companion". His parliamentary colleague

Chris Puplick Christopher John Guelph Puplick ( ; born 13 May 1948) is a British-Australian politician, public servant and public intellectual. Career From 1975–78, Puplick was the federal president of the Young Liberals. He was appointed to a casual va ...

later acknowledged the "deep personal friendship" between the pair in a eulogy for Dobie. He was occasionally subjected to homophobic remarks in parliament, and it has been suggested that his homosexuality may have inhibited his chances of a ministerial appointment. Dobie died on 25 November 1996 at the age of 69, less than a year after leaving parliament. His death was caused by a heart attack resulting from complications of diabetes. He was granted a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

at Cronulla Presbyterian Community Church.

References

LGBT conservatism LGBT legislators in Australia Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Cook Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Hughes Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1927 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub