Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Herbert Paton FitzSimons (25 November 1898 – 31 January 1970) was an Australian politician. He was born at

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

; his father, William FitzSimons, was a member of the

New South Wales Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...

from 1922 to 1926. Herbert was educated at

Abbotsholme College Abbotsholme College was an open-air private school in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It operated from 1909 to 1925 in the suburb of Killara. Pupils during the school's brief existence included two future prime ministers, William McMahon and ...

before studying at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

from 1919 to 1921 (he had joined the Australian Imperial Force and was sent to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, but the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

ended before he saw action). He later worked with the importers' company Boswell and Co. until 1925, and then worked for Pratten Brothers (a printing company) until 1935. He married Eleanor Brown on 2 April 1927, with whom he had two children. In 1930, FitzSimons was elected to 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 ...

as the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

member for

Lane Cove Lane Cove is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lane Cove is nine kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governmen ...

. He was an honorary minister from 1933 to 1935 and served as Minister for Health from 1939 to 1941. During

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 ...

, he was attached to the Army Medical Directorate and then the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Army Headquarters in Australia; he then served as Registrar of Australian General Hospital from 1942 to 1943 and at

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

from 1943 to 1944. He retired from the Legislative Assembly in 1944 and became assistant registrar at Concord Military Hospital until 1947. From 1944 to 1955 he was an alderman on

Ku-ring-gai Council Ku-ring-gai Council is a local government area in Northern Sydney ( Upper North Shore), in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area is named after the Guringai Aboriginal people who were thought to be the traditional owners of the area. ...

, and he managed Leslie and Stead, a printing company, for that period. In 1955 he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

as a

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. He defected to the Country Party on 29 September 1959 and was appointed Government Whip in 1967. FitzSimons served in the Council until his death at Wamberal in 1970.

References

1898 births 1970 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales United Australia Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council University of Sydney alumni New South Wales local councillors Australian soldiers 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub