Gilbert Fraser (22 July 1894 – 1 November 1958) was an Australian politician, postmaster and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Telegraphist A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is an operator who uses a telegraph key to send and receive the Morse code in order to communicate by land lines or radio. During the Great War the Royal ...

. He was a Labor Party member in the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

from 1928 to 1958, representing West Province. He served as Chief Secretary and Minister for Local Government and Town Planning from 1953 to 1958, and was Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council from 1955 to 1958.

Personal life

Fraser was born on 22 July 1894 in Bunbury, Western Australia. His parents were Edmund Fraser, a contractor, and Ellen Maud Walsh. He was Catholic. His family moved to Victoria when he was young, and he was educated at Marist Brothers College,

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

. Fraser returned to Western Australia in 1910. Fraser married Mary Alice Williams on 7 October 1914 at St Anne's Church,

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 ...

. They had three sons and one daughter. In 1915 he was living in North Fremantle. Fraser was a president of the North Fremantle Amateur Football Club, from 1932 to 19589 less 5 years during World War Two). The home ground for the football club was named Gilbert Fraser Reserve and Grandstand in his honour. In 1957 he was affected by throat cancer. Fraser died on 1 November 1958 at remantle Hospitalin Western Australia.

Career

Fraser joined the Postmaster-General Department,

Eaglehawk The wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax'') is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of this species have lon ...

, Victoria in 1909. In 1915 he was a letter carrier stationed with Postmaster-General at Fremantle, and continued to work there until 1928. Fraser was the Labor candidate elected to the

for the West Province, from 22 May 1928 to 1 November 1958. At this time, at 33 years of age, he was the youngest member to enter any Legislative Assembly in Australia. He was Deputy Chairman of Committees from 1936 to 1952. He was a member of the Royal Commission inquiring into the Electoral Act 1935, and Royal Commission inquiring into the Companies Bill in 1941. From 1941-1945 Fraser was a

for the

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

during

. In 1950 Fraser represented the Western Australia branch of the

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights. In 1989 the patron of the CPA was the Head of ...

at the General Conference in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In 1951 to 1952 he was a member of the Royal Commission inquiring into the Town Planning and Development Act Amendment Bill. He was Chief Secretary, Minister for Local Government and Town Planning from 23 February 1953 to 1 November 1958, and Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council from 7 December 1955 to 1 November 1958. He was 'Father of the House,' as longest serving member in the house, from May 1954 to his death in November 1958. In 1957 he used an amplifier in Parliament due to throat cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Gilbert 1894 births 1958 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Telegraphists Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Postmasters General of Australia deaths from throat cancer deaths from cancer in Western Australia People from Bunbury, Western Australia