Harry Hearn (24 October 1890 - 20 March 1956) was an Australian politician and businessman. 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 1948 until his death, representing

Metropolitan Province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of severa ...

Biography

Hearn was born at

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

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 ...

, where he entered the furniture-making trade. He migrated to

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 1912, and along with his brother Ernest, formed Hearn Bros and Stead Pty Ltd, based out of a converted church 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 ...

, with each serving as joint managing directors. Their business expanded to become one of the state's most prominent furniture manufacturers, operating a two-acre site at Victoria Park and other factories in West Perth and

Welshpool Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...

, and in 1950 expanded into the larger holding company Hearn Industries Ltd. He stepped down as managing director of Hearn Industries in 1954 in favour of his son Noel, but remained a board director. He married Edith Nellie Matheson on 9 September 1914; they had one son and one daughter. He was active in employer organisations, serving as president of the Employers' Federation of Western Australia, the Chamber of Manufactures of Western Australia and the State Furniture Trades Association and acting president of the Australian Council of Employers' Federations. He was state vice-president and Perth branch president of the Liberal Party, founder and president of conservative lobby group the Citizen Rights Association, an honorary commissioner for the Australian Comfort Fund 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 ...

, president of the Perth Football Club and patron of the Western Australian Motor Cycling Association. Hearn was elected to the Legislative Council for Metropolitan Province at the 1948 biennial elections, defeating fellow Liberal Sir

Hal Colebatch Sir Harry Pateshall Colebatch (29 March 1872 – 12 February 1953) was a long-serving and occasionally controversial figure in Western Australian politics. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for nearly 20 years, the ...

. He had a number of parliamentary assignments, including as a member of the Joint House Committee from 1950 to 1956, a member of the Select Committee on the Provisions of the Kauri Timber Co Ltd Agreement Bill in 1950, chairman of the Honorary Royal Commission inquiring into the Town Planning and Development Act Amendment Bill from 1951 to 1952 and chairman of the Select Committee on the Workers' Compensation Act Amendment Bill in 1954. In 1954

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

embarked on a royal visit of Australia. The

had been using a pool cue in the Legislative Council instead of a traditional black rod. As a result of the visit Hearn paid for the Crown Jewellers to make the black rod as a gift to the Legislative Council that is used today.

Death

He died in office at Roelands in 1956 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 ...

References

{{reflist 1890 births 1956 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery