George Meredith Cornell (3 September 1910 – 6 July 1967) was an Australian politician who was a Country Party member of the Legislative Assembly 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 1947 until his death. He served as a minister in the government of Sir

David Brand Sir David Brand KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1945 to 1975, and also the 19th and longest-serving Prem ...

Biography

Cornell was born in

Boulder, Western Australia Boulder is a suburb in the Western Australian Goldfields, east of Perth and bordering onto the city of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields region. The Boulder (horse) Races were a significant event in early twentieth century goldfields regi ...

, to Mary Ann (née Daws) and

James Cornell James Cornell (23 December 1874 – 25 November 1946) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1912 until his death. He was elected President of the Legislative Council in July 19 ...

. His father was also a member of parliament. Cornell was raised 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 i ...

, and after leaving school studied accounting. He worked for periods at the Bank of Western Australia and the

Agricultural Bank of Western Australia Bankwest is an Australian full-service bank based in Perth, Western Australia. It was sold in October 2008 to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for 2.1 billion and operates as a division of its parent company. Bankwest previously had branch ...

, and later at private firms in Perth and Kellerberrin (a small Wheatbelt town). Cornell served on the

Kellerberrin Road Board The Shire of Kellerberrin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about west of Merredin and about east of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is the town of ...

from 1942 to 1947, including as chairman from 1945 to 1947.George Meredith Cornell
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 16 July 2016. He entered parliament at the 1947 state election, defeating the sitting

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

member, William Telfer, in the seat of Avon. At the 1950 election, Cornell's seat was abolished, and he transferred to the nearby seat of Mount Marshall. In 1961, following the death of Charles Perkins, he was elevated to the ministry, becoming

Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

, Minister for Police, and Minister for Native Welfare in the Brand government. However, he served as a minister for less than six months, leaving cabinet after the 1962 state election. Having been returned unopposed at six consecutive elections, Cornell died in office in July 1967, as the result of a road accident outside his home in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

. He had married Mollie Gladys Pope in 1940, with whom he had five sons.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornell, George 1910 births 1967 deaths Accidental deaths in Western Australia Australian accountants Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from Boulder, Western Australia Road incident deaths in Western Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Western Australian local councillors