Henry Phipps John Woodward (4 April 1898 – 3 April 1966) was an Australian politician and a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

for a single term between 1944 and 1947. He was a member of the Labor Party.

Early life

Woodward was born in Brent Knoll in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and was the son of a General dealer (

Rag and bone man A rag-and-bone man or ragpicker (UK English) or ragman, old-clothesman, junkman, or junk dealer (US English), also called a bone-grubber, bone-picker, chiffonnier, rag-gatherer, bag board, or totter, collects unwanted household items and sells t ...

). He was educated to elementary level in England and initially worked with his father but later became a produce agent and farmer in

East Brent East Brent is a village and civil parish, on the eastern edge of a hill that dominates the surrounding level countryside—Brent Knoll—close to the M5 motorway, west of Axbridge, in the Sedgemoor district of the county of Somerset, in the so ...

. Woodward migrated to Australia in 1922 and was a farm produce agent and company director. He sat in parliament as a member of the Labor Party but joined the Liberal Party after leaving office.

State Parliament

Woodward entered parliament as the Labor member for Lane Cove after he won the seat at

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

state election. This was a surprise result as Lane Cove was considered one of the most conservative seats in the assembly. The incumbent

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

member

Herbert FitzSimons Major Herbert Paton FitzSimons (25 November 1898 – 31 January 1970) was an Australian politician. He was born at Gordon in Sydney; his father, William FitzSimons, was a member of the New South Wales Parliament from 1922 to 1926. Herbert w ...

had retired and his party's new candidate was John Cramer a future

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 of 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 ...

and a cabinet minister under

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 ...

. The Liberal Democrat candidate was Norman Thomas a former United Australia Party member for the seat of Bondi. Divisions between the two conservative parties resulted in Woodward gaining a 23% leakage of Thomas' second preferences and an 800-vote (2%) victory. The unification of New South Wales' urban conservative politicians in the Liberal Party in 1945, augured the end of Woodward's parliamentary career. He was easily defeated by Liberal candidate

Ken McCaw Sir Kenneth Malcolm McCaw QC (8 October 1907 – 13 September 1989), an Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Lane Cove for the Liberal Party from 1947 until his retirement from political o ...

at the

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

election. Woodward did not hold caucus, parliamentary or ministerial office.

References

1898 births 1966 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Labor-NewSouthWales-MP-stub