Sir Frederick Charles Chaney (20 October 1914 – 17 December 2001) was an Australian politician. He served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1955 to 1969, as federal

Minister for the Navy Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

from 1964 to 1966, as Administrator of the Northern Territory from 1970 to 1973, and finally as

Lord Mayor of Perth __TOC__ The history of the City of Perth, a local government area of Western Australia is defined over three distinct periods: *From 1829 to 1838 — controlled by the Governor of Western Australia *From 1838 to 1858 — controlled by the ''Pe ...

from 1978 to 1982.

Early life

Chaney was born in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, Western Australia and educated in state and Catholic schools. As a result of his sporting ability he won a scholarship to attend

Christian Brothers' College, Perth Christian Brothers College (CBC), informally known as CBC Perth or The Terrace was an Independent school for boys situated on St Georges Terrace in the centre of Perth, Western Australia. The college opened in January 1894, and the college was a ...

. He taught in state schools from 1932 and married Mavis, a fellow teacher, in 1938. In 1941, he enlisted in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

as a pilot and flying instructor and served in Australia,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

and was awarded the Air Force Cross. Chaney and his wife had four sons (including

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...

, a deputy leader of the Liberal Party;

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

, a businessman; and John, a judge) and three daughters.

Politics

Chaney was elected at the

1955 election The following elections occurred in the year 1955. Africa * 1955 Liberian general election * 1955 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1955 Cambodian parliamentary election * 1955 Indonesian Constituent Assembly election * 1955 Indon ...

as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member for 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 ...

seat of

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 is ...

. He was appointed

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

' December 1963 ministry, but not sworn in until 4 March 1964, due to the need to pass legislation to enlarge the ministry. In the interim, on 10 February 1964 the

Melbourne–Voyager collision The ''Melbourne''–''Voyager'' collision, also known as the ''Melbourne''–''Voyager'' incident or simply the ''Voyager'' incident, was a collision between two warships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN); the aircraft carrier and the dest ...

took place, and Chaney was responsible for dealing with its repercussions. He was not reappointed to

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...

's second ministry in December 1966 and he was defeated at the 1969 election by Labor candidate, Joe Berinson. Chaney was the Administrator of the Northern Territory from 1970 to 1973 and was a strong advocate for

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

land rights. He was

from 1978 to 1982. He was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 1970 and

Knight Commander Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mili ...

of the Order (KBE) in 1981.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaney, Fred 1914 births 2001 deaths Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Perth Members of the Australian House of Representatives Mayors and Lord Mayors of Perth, Western Australia Australian recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Administrators of the Northern Territory People educated at Christian Brothers' College, Perth Australian schoolteachers 20th-century Australian politicians