Donald George May (15 February 1924 – 23 September 2001) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

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 ...

from 1962 to 1965 and again from 1968 to 1977. He was a minister in the government of

John Tonkin John Trezise Tonkin AC (2 February 1902 – 20 October 1995), popularly known as "Honest John", was an Australian politician. A member of the Labor Party, he served as a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for a record 44 ...

Early life

May was born in

Collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Man ...

, to Elizabeth Lyall (née Wilson) and Henry Thomas May. His mother was the daughter of Arthur Wilson, a long-serving Labor MP, and his father was the Labor member for Collie-Preston from 1947 to 1968. May was sent to school in

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 i ...

, attending Perth Boys' School and Perth Technical College. He worked as a coal miner and a railway clerk after leaving school, and in 1943 enlisted in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal 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 (CA), wh ...

, serving in the Pacific as a private with the 2/2nd Commando Squadron. Upon his return to Australia he secured work as a public relations officer with

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...

.Donald George May Sr
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 7 May 2016.

Politics

A member of the Labor Party since 1941, May stood for parliament at the 1962 state election, winning the seat of Canning by a narrow margin. He and his father consequently became the first father–son pair to sit together in the Legislative Assembly. At the 1965 election, the result in Canning was reversed, with May narrowly being defeated by sports journalist

Ross Elliott Ross Elliott (born Elliott Blum, June 18, 1917 – August 12, 1999) was an American television and film character actor. He began his acting career in the Mercury Theatre, where he performed in ''The War of the Worlds (radio), The War of t ...

, 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 ...

candidate. He returned to parliament at the 1968 election as the member for the new seat of Clontarf, located in Perth's southern suburbs. May increased his majority at the 1971 election and was appointed Minister for Mines and

Minister for the North-West Minister for Regional Development is a position in the government of Western Australia, currently held by Alannah MacTiernan of the Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch), Labor Party. The position was first created in 1977, for the g ...

in the new Labor government led by

. In a reshuffle only a few months after his initial appointment, he lost the North-West portfolio to

Herb Graham Herbert Ernst Graham (6 April 1911 – 17 March 1982) was an Australian politician. Biography Graham was born in Narrogin, Western Australia on 6 April 1911 to parents from South Australia. Graham attended school in Narrogin and Northam. H ...

, but was instead created Minister for Electricity. In July 1972, he also replaced

Arthur Bickerton Arthur William Bickerton (27 August 1919 – 18 June 1992) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1958 to 1974, representing the seat of Pilbara. He served as a minister ...

as Minister for Fuel. The Tonkin government was defeated at the 1974 election, but May remained a member of the Tonkin shadow cabinet, and later the shadow cabinet of

Colin Jamieson Colin John Jamieson, AO JP (26 May 1923 – 27 March 1990), was a politician in Western Australia. A member of the Labor Party, he served as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1953 until 1986, as the Minister for Wo ...

, who replaced Tonkin as leader in 1976. He left parliament at the 1977 election, and worked for a period as chief industrial personnel officer of

CBH Group The CBH Group (commonly known as CBH, an acronym for Co-operative Bulk Handling), is a grain growers' cooperative that handles, markets and processes grain from the wheatbelt of Western Australia. History CBH was formed on 5 April 1933, at ...

, a grain growers' cooperative. May died in September 2001, aged 77. He married twice, having three children by his first wife.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:May, Don 1924 births 2001 deaths Australian Army soldiers Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian people of English descent Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Collie, Western Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Energy Ministers of Western Australia

Early life

Politics

See also

References