Fred Evan McKenzie OAM (1 December 1933 – 18 March 2008) was an Australian trade unionist and politician who served as a Labor Party member of the Legislative Council 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 1977 to 1993. McKenzie was born 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 is ...

. After leaving school, he worked as a plasterer for a period and then joined the Midland Railway Company, later transferring to

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 ...

. From 1970 to 1977, McKenzie was assistant state secretary of the

Australian Railways Union The Australian Railways Union (ARU) was an Australian trade union in existence from 1920 to 1993. The ARU was an industrial union, representing all types of workers employed in the rail industry, excluding locomotive enginedrivers and tradesme ...

. He entered parliament at the 1977 state election, winning election to the new East Metropolitan Province. That seat was abolished at the 1983 election, and McKenzie transferred to

North-East Metropolitan Province The North-East Metropolitan Province was a two-member electoral province of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in metropolitan Perth. It was one of several metropolitan seats created following the enactment of the ''Constitution A ...

, replacing

Joe Berinson Joseph Max Berinson (7 January 1932 – 2 June 2018) was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the Australian House of Representatives and the Western Australian Legislative Council. He was Minister for t ...

. After the election, he was made

government whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...

in the Legislative Council, a position which he held until his retirement. At the 1989 election, McKenzie was elected to the new four-member

East Metropolitan Region The East Metropolitan Region is a multi-member electoral region of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in the eastern and south-eastern suburbs of Perth. It was created by the ''Acts Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 1987'', and b ...

. He served one more four-year term before retiring at the 1993 election.Garry Kenneth Kelly
Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 10 September 2016. McKenzie was awarded the

Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 2001, for "service to the community in the Belmont area, particularly through support for aged care and charitable organisations".MCKENZIE, Fred Evan
It's An Honour. Retrieved 10 September 2016. He died in March 2008, aged 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Fred 1933 births 2008 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian schoolteachers Trade unionists from Perth, Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia