Eric Sydney Spooner (2 March 1891 – 3 June 1952) was an Australian politician.

Early life

Spooner was born in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of Waterloo and educated at Christ Church St Laurence School. At 14 he became a telegraph messenger and studied at night at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

to gain a diploma in economics and commerce. He married Mary Berry in December 1919. He established the accounting firm of Hungerford, Spooner & Co in 1922 with his brother

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, a

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cabinet minister from 1949 to 1964.

State politics

Spooner was elected the seat of

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

in 1932 and became an honorary minister in the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

government of Bertram Stevens. He subsequently became Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Local Government. From 1935 he was Minister for Local Government, Secretary for Public Works and deputy leader of the United Australia Party (NSW Branch). He was responsible for establishing employment-creating schemes and the Sydney County Council, a gas and electricity supplier. In 1939 he opposed budget cuts and resigned from Cabinet on 21 July. On 1 August, he moved a moved a motion that was critical of the proposal to cut government spending in order to restrain a growing deficit, with Spooner personally attacking Stevens, describing him as running the party as a dictatorship. The coalition had a large majority in the assembly, however the motion was passed 43 to 41, with nine United Australia members joining Spooner in voting against the government. Spooner's ambitions to replace Stevens as leader were thwarted as the Leader of the Country Party,

Michael Bruxner Lieutenant Colonel Sir Michael Frederick Bruxner (25 March 1882 – 28 March 1970) was an Australian politician and soldier, serving for many years as leader of the Country Party (and its predecessors) in New South Wales. Born in the north o ...

, refused to join a coalition with him and

Alexander Mair Alexander Mair (25 August 18893 August 1969) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 5 August 1939 to 16 May 1941. Born in Melbourne, Mair worked in various businesses there before moving to Albury, New Sout ...

succeeded Stevens as Premier.

Spooner bathing costume

As the NSW Minister for Local Government, Spooner introduced an ordinance, commencing on 1 September 1935, regulating the design of

swimsuit A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or List of water sports, water sports, such as swimming, Diving (sport), diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Di ...

s, principally aimed at males who were wearing

swim trunks Swim trunks, also known as swimming trunks, are a form of swimsuit - clothing worn specifically for swimming. As such, they are usually made of materials specifically designed for being wet and remaining comfortable and hydrodynamic to not impede ...

which left their chests bare. The lowering of the upper part of a costume to show a bared chest was considered by some people, including the Bega branch of the

Country Women's Association The Country Women's Association (CWA) is the largest regional and rural advocacy group in Australia. It comprises seven independent State and Territory Associations, who are passionate advocates for country women and their families, working ...

, as "disgraceful, and eritingrigorous attention". A clergyman maintained that "if men were allowed to wear shorts, girls would want shorts and brassieres and that would lead to a steady increase of undesirable conduct on our beaches". Protests were received from the Surf Life Saving Association of Australia, and the ordinance was derided as inappropriate for competitive swimming. The prohibitive purchase cost of the required swimming costume was also mentioned. Spooner noted the change legalised costumes currently in use and removed the older "neck to knee" costumes ordinance, dating from 1910. The State of Victoria followed Spooner's regulation. The law was still in effect in NSW in 1950.

Federal politics and later life

In August 1940 Spooner resigned his seat and won the Federal seat of

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in the October election. In June 1941, he was appointed Minister for War Organisation of Industry in the third Menzies Ministry, a position he retained until the fall of the Fadden government in October 1941. He lost his seat in the 1943 election. He joined the new

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 ...

, but was almost expelled for questioning the

White Australia Policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting i ...

. He ran unsuccessfully against

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 ...

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1945, follow ...

in Macquarie in

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

. Spooner died of cancer in Sydney in 1952, survived by his wife, three sons and daughter.

Notes

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Spooner, Eric Sydney Members of the Cabinet of Australia United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia Liberal Party of Australia politicians Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Robertson Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1891 births 1952 deaths United Australia Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Australian accountants