Hugh Stevenson Roberton (18 December 1900 – 13 March 1987) was an Australian politician. A member of the Country Party, he served as Minister for Social Services in the

Menzies government Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

from 1956 to 1965. He later served as Ambassador to Ireland from 1965 to 1967.

Early life

Roberton was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, son of Sir

Hugh S. Roberton Sir Hugh Stevenson Roberton (23 February 18747 October 1952) was a Scottish composer and Britain's leading choral-master. Roberton was born in Glasgow, where, in 1906, he founded the Glasgow Orpheus Choir. For five years before that it was the T ...

, a Scottish composer and founder of the

Glasgow Orpheus Choir The Glasgow Orpheus Choir was founded in Glasgow, Scotland in 1906 by Hugh S. Roberton. It originated in the Toynbee Musical Association, which had been created in 1901. The Glasgow Orpheus Choir came to be considered without peer in Britain, an ...

. He was educated at the West of Scotland Agricultural College and

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and emigrated to Australia in the 1920s. He became a farmer and grazier at

Old Junee Old Junee is a village community in the central east part of the Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination ...

and a writer on political and economic subjects, particularly in the rural newspaper the Land under the name, "Peter Snodgrass". During World War II he served as a gunner in

the Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europea ...

Politics

Roberton stood for the Country Party at the 1949 election for the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

seat of

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

and defeated the

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, Joe Langtry. He was a proponent of government intervention to stabilise the price paid to wheat-growers. In February 1956, he was appointed Minister for Social Services in the seventh Menzies Ministry, a position he held until his resignation from parliament in 1965. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Country Party's deputy leadership in 1963, losing to Charles Adermann after the retirement of Charles Davidson.

Later life

Roberton was appointed Australia's first ambassador to Ireland in 1965 and served until 1967. Roberton died in Canberra in 1987, aged 86. He was survived by his wife, Eileen, and a daughter.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberton, Hugh Stevenson 1900 births 1987 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Riverina Members of the Australian House of Representatives Ambassadors of Australia to Ireland 20th-century Australian politicians Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish emigrants to Australia Alumni of Scotland's Rural College