Harold Francis "Fred" Newton (12 July 1921 – 28 December 1990) was a Member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

Early Days

Newton was born in Maryborough to Francis and Ada Laura Newton (née Davey). Due to family financial pressures Harold and his sister Ada were made

wards of the state In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court". Overview The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient ju ...

and sent to an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

in Nudgee,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

for three years. As state wards were deemed to owe a debt to the state Newton was sent work on a dairy farm in

Pittsworth Pittsworth is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Pittsworth had a population of 3,294 people. Geography Pittsworth township is south-west of Brisbane via the Warrego Highway, sout ...

. This farm was eventually sold and he was relocated to a farm in Maryvale. When he turned 18 he returned to his family in Maryborough. In 1946, Newton was working in a bacon factory when due to a

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

he left his job and became a builder's labourer. This led to a long association with the

Building Workers' Industrial Union The Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia was an Australian trade union covering workers in the construction industry. Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners of Australia It was originally established as the Australian District ...

and he served the role of state organiser from 1953 till 1960.

Politics

Newton won the newly created seat of

Belmont Belmont may refer to: People * Belmont (surname) Places * Belmont Abbey (disambiguation) * Belmont Historic District (disambiguation) * Belmont Hotel (disambiguation) * Belmont Park (disambiguation) * Belmont Plantation (disambiguation) * Belmon ...

in 1960 and remained as its member till his defeat at the 1974 state election. He was Deputy Leader of the Opposition for 5 months from July 1974 and a member of the Parliamentary Labor Party Executive from 1966 to 1974.

Personal life

Newton was married to Ada Gwendoline Holzapfel and together they had seven children. After politics he was a real estate salesman and then became a general assistant at the Queensland State Library Board. Known as "Fearless Fred", Newton died in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Fred Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1921 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians