Harold Arthur Charles Daffen (8 September 1899 – 15 August 1984) was an Australian politician. He was a

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

member of 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 1947 to 1950, representing Central Province. Daffen was born in Brunswick,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, the son of Arthur Daffen, a school teacher who had recently emigrated from England; his family moved to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in 1900 and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in 1902. He was educated at St Joachim's Convent School in

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

and St Patrick's Boys School, but left school early to work on his family's farm at Kukerin and later for D. & J. Fowler Ltd. He enlisted for military service on 6 October 1917, and was an orderly in the dental corps of the

Royal Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian coloni ...

and attended non-commissioned officer training before embarking overseas on 29 October 1918; however, with the end of the war on 11 November he was reported as returning home in December. He was discharged on 17 January 1919, re-enlisted with the Home Service Corps the next day, and worked in the military headquarters in Perth until 1920, having made sergeant in June 1919. Daffen returned to Kukerin in 1920 under the repatriation scheme and began farming wheat and sheep in partnership with his brother; he served as president of the Kukerin branch of the Wheatgrowers' Union during this time. He withdrew from the partnership in 1932, returned to Perth and worked as a branch manager for Bruce Small Pty Ltd. Daffen then moved to

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

in 1936, where he worked for Young Motors Limited as manager of their radio and sports department until his election to parliament. He was a councillor of the Municipality of Geraldton from 1943 to 1947, captain of the Utakarra Golf Club at Geraldton from 1936 to 1940, trustee and honorary secretary of the Geraldton Sailors and Soldiers Memorial Institute from 1942 to 1950 and deputy controller of air raid precautions at Geraldton during World War II. He was an unsuccessful Liberal candidate for the Legislative Assembly at the 1947 state election. Daffen was elected to the Legislative Council at a by-election on 30 August 1947 caused by the death of John Drew. He was a member of the Joint Select Committee on the Bush Fires Act Amendment Bill in 1948. He ran for re-election in 1950 (his seat having been renamed Midland Province) on a platform including new water supply schemes and attempts to combat soil erosion and

soil salinity Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the ...

, but was defeated by Country Party candidate Ray Jones. Daffen had won majorities in the

and Greenough areas, but was narrowly beaten due to his opponent's victory margins in more rural areas. Daffen moved back to Perth in June 1950 following his defeat; he later operated a store in North Perth and worked for a succession of companies. He was also a member of the Bayswater Road Board from 1955 to 1958. He died in 1984 at a

Mount Lawley Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

nursing home and was buried at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

. He married Evelyn Janet Sibbella Hooton on 18 April 1936; they had three sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daffen, Harold 1899 births 1984 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Politicians from Perth, Western Australia