Eric Hearnshaw (21 May 1893 – 20 July 1967) was an Australian politician and a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

from 1945 until 1965. 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 ...

. Hearnshaw was born in

Sheffield, England Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire an ...

, the son of a tool manufacturer, and was educated to elementary level. He came to Australia as an assisted migrant in 1914 and was initially trained to be a farmer. Hearnshaw served in the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Au ...

in the Middle East between 1915 and 1919 and was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

. After repatriation, he studied accountancy and public administration and was employed in public and private practice as an administrator. He was involved in community groups in the

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 ...

region including Legacy, Rotary and the Freemasons. Hearnshaw was elected to the New South Wales Parliament as the

member for

at the

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

by-election in February, which was caused by the death of the sitting, independent conservative member James Shand. As parliamentary members of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

had yet to join the Liberal Party, Hearnshaw was the first Liberal Party member in the

New South Wales parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...

. Hearnshaw retained the seat at the 1947 election and transferred to the new seat of Eastwood at the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

state election. He retained this seat for the Liberal party at the next 4 elections but lost pre-selection prior to the 1965 election. During this time, he was the opposition whip from 1959 till 1965. His wife, Marion Hearnshaw, unsuccessfully contested the seat at that election. Eric Hearnshaw's son was the acclaimed Australian film maker Philip Hearnshaw.

References

1893 births 1967 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub