Francis Edward Old (24 November 1875 – 19 May 1950) was an Australian politician. He was born in Dingee to farmer Thomas Spear Old and Charlotte Mitchell. He attended state schools at Dingee, and from 1892 was a farmer at Swan Hill. On 27 September 1903, he married Marion Richardson, with whom he had five children. From 1907 to 1919 he was based in Wakool in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, but from 1919 he returned to Swan Hill while retaining the New South Wales property. He had been involved with the

Farmers' and Settlers' Association The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a fede ...

in New South Wales and served on

Wakool Shire Wakool Shire was a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was located between the Murray River and the Murrumbidgee River and adjacent to the Sturt Highway. Towns in the Shire are Barham, Moulamei ...

Council from 1912–13. In 1919 he won a by-election for the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

seat of Swan Hill, representing the

Victorian Farmers' Union The Victorian Farmers' Union (VFU) was an association of farmers and primary producers formed in 1914 in the Australian state of Victoria. Although initially formed as an "absolutely non-political" entity, the VFU became a political party in 1916 ...

. He joined the Country Party on its formation and was Minister of Agriculture and Railways from 1923–24 and Minister of Water Supply and Electrical Undertakings from 1935–43; he was also Deputy Premier from 1936–37. He was the Country Party's deputy leader twice, first from 1922 to 1924 and secondly from 1936 to 1937. Old was defeated in 1945 and died at Swan Hill in 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old, Francis 1875 births 1950 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Vice-Presidents of the Board of Land and Works Ministers for Agriculture (Victoria)