Harold George Coates, OBE (22 April 1917 – 9 April 2002) was an Australian politician who served as 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 ...

from 1965–1976.

Political career

Coates entered public office as an alderman on the Lithgow City Council in 1945, where he served for almost forty years. Coates was Mayor of

Lithgow, New South Wales Lithgow is a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the administrative center of the City of Lithgow local government area. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of Wil ...

in 1947, from 1954 until 1957 and again in 1976. Coates first contested the seat of

Hartley Hartley may refer to: Places Australia *Hartley, New South Wales *Hartley, South Australia **Electoral district of Hartley, a state electoral district Canada *Hartley Bay, British Columbia United Kingdom *Hartley, Cumbria *Hartley, Plymou ...

at the 1947 election 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 ...

candidate. He again contested Hartley in 1962 as an independent, and came close to defeating

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 labour ...

member

Jim Robson Jim Robson OBC (born January 17, 1935) is a former radio and television broadcaster who was the play-by-play announcer of the Vancouver Canucks' games from 1970 to 1999. Broadcasting career Robson started his career at the age of 17 covering ...

in what had been a traditionally Labor seat. In 1965, Coates ran as an independent again and won the election on Democratic Labor Party preferences. With no party winning an outright majority, Coates threw his support to the Liberal-

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

–a critical step in allowing the conservatives to form a minority government, ending 24 years in opposition. Coates held the seat, renamed Blue Mountains in 1968, until he was swept out in the 1978 "Wranslide" by Labor's

Mick Clough Ralph James "Mick" Clough (22 October 1927 – 12 August 2008) was an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1976 to 1981, representing the electorate of Blue Mountains and represen ...

, his opponent in 1976. During elections between 1962 and 1978, the Liberals did not nominate a candidate against Coates. He was viewed as a conservative independent and generally supported the Coalition in parliament.

Personal life

Coates was born to George Coates and Emily Ivy Coates (née Moore) in

Hampton, New South Wales Hampton is a locality in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The locality is in the City of Lithgow The City of Lithgow is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is loc ...

on 22 April 1917. Coates attended school

Lithgow High School Lithgow may refer to: * Lithgow, New South Wales, a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia * City of Lithgow, an Australian local government area * Lithgow (surname), a surname of Scottish origin * Lithgow, New York, a hamlet ...

and Lithgow Technical College. He was a builder by trade, and he went on to succeed his father in running the family business, G.Coates and Sons Pty Ltd, a hardware store and timber yard in Lithgow. In 1939 Coates married Kathleen Winchester and they had four children. He was a long-standing

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and served as Grand Master of the

United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory The United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory is the main governing body of Freemasonry within the Australian state of New South Wales that also wholly encloses the Australian Capital Territory containing the nat ...

from 1980 to 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coates, Harold Independent members of the Parliament of New South Wales 1917 births 2002 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Freemasons Masonic Grand Masters 20th-century Australian politicians People from Lithgow, New South Wales