Hugh Norman Guthrie (2 July 1910 – 28 January 2000) was an Australian politician who was a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of

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 ...

from 1959 to 1971, representing the seat of Subiaco. He served as

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and ter ...

from 1968 to 1971.

Early life

Guthrie was born in the remote mining town of Laverton, to Annie (née Hutchinson) and Wemyss Manley Guthrie. He attended

Hale School Hale School is an independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Named after the school founded by Bishop Mathew Blagden Hale in 1858, Hale School claims to b ...

and the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

, and after training as a lawyer was admitted to practise in 1933. Guthrie enlisted in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

in 1939, and saw service in the Middle East with the 2/16th Infantry Battalion. Later he was commissioned as an officer and served in New Guinea where he was wounded while serving at

Sanananda Sanananda is a village on the coast of Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. History Sanananda was occupied by the Imperial Japanese in 1942 during World War II and became a heavily fortified defensive area. It was liberated by the Australian Army and US ...

with the 49th Infantry Battalion. Afterwards, he saw further service at

Morotai Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...

and in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

, including a period in the headquarters of Lieutenant-General Sir

Leslie Morshead Lieutenant General Sir Leslie James Morshead, (18 September 1889 – 26 September 1959) was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, whose military career spanned both world wars. During the Second World War, he led the Austra ...

, the commander of the

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

. By the end of the war Guthrie had reached the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and also been

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He was discharged in October 1945, and returned to the legal profession. Guthrie married June Cresswell Collins in 1946, with whom he had five children.Hugh Norman Guthrie
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2016.

Politics and later life

A member of the Nationalist Party from 1933 and a founding member of the

in 1945, Guthrie was elected to parliament at the 1959 state election, defeating the sitting

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 for Subiaco,

Percival Potter Percival George Charles Potter (4 September 1906 – 17 August 1975) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1956 to 1959, representing the seat of Subiaco. Potter was ...

. He increased his majority at the 1962 election. When John Hearman, the long-serving Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, was defeated in his seat at the 1968 election, Guthrie was elected to take his place. He served until his retirement at the 1971 election, which also saw the defeat of the Liberal government led by Sir

David Brand Sir David Brand KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1945 to 1975, and also the 19th and longest-serving Premi ...

. Outside of politics, Guthrie served as a director of a number of mining companies, and was also president of the

Royal King's Park Tennis Club Royal King's Park Tennis Club, founded in 1899, is located in Kings Park, Western Australia. It was originally called the Mount Tennis Club and included two asphalt courts. Later, lawn tennis, bowls and croquet facilities were added. The membe ...

from 1950 to 1955 and president of the

Western Australian Club The Western Australian Club is a defunct social club founded in in Perth, Western Australia. Named Exchange Club until 1897 and then West Australian Club until 1979, it ceased operating in . History The Western Australian Club began in 1893 a ...

from 1953 to 1955. He died in Midland in 2000, aged 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guthrie, Hugh 1910 births 2000 deaths Australian Anglicans Australian Army officers Australian barristers Australian Army personnel of World War II Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Speakers of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People educated at Hale School People from Laverton, Western Australia University of Western Australia alumni 20th-century Australian politicians

Early life

Politics and later life

See also

References