Hugh Alan Leslie

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(17 April 1900 – 2 September 1974) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Country Party and served terms in the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

(1943–1949) and

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 ...

(1949–1958, 1961–1963). He was a newspaper editor before entering politics.

Early life

Leslie was born in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on 17 April 1900 to Charles Leslie and Helen Gibson. His parents died when Hugh was very young and he was raised in a facility, educated at

King William's Town Qonce, formerly known as King William's Town, is a city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River. The city is about northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London. Qonce, with a population of around ...

and Grahamstown College, at

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

. Leslie served in the

n armed forces from 1916 to 1919 and worked in small jobs until emigrating to

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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1923 and arriving in Western Australia in 1927. Leslie became very active in Country Party affairs and became Wyalkatchem's branch secretary in 1928. On 26 December 1931 Leslie married Isabel Margaret Dawson (aged 21), eventually bearing seven children. The ''North-Eastern Wheatbelt Tribune'' acquired Leslie as its editor in that same year and he went on to become its proprietor.

State politics

Leslie exited the print media in 1939 and became chairman of the Wyalkatchem District Patriotic Committee and the president of the local Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' Imperial League of Australia. He joined the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in 1940, stationed in the

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

. Leslie's right leg was amputated in 1941 following an injury in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

and was discharged from the army in 1943. He was elected to the

on 20 November of that year in the seat of Mount Marshall. He served as the

party whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...

and party secretary until his resignation from State parliament on 30 October 1949.

Federal politics

Leslie won the

Division of Moore The Division of Moore is an Australian electoral division in the state of Western Australia. History The Division was named after George Fletcher Moore, the first Advocate-General of Western Australia, and is at present a safe Liberal sea ...

on 10 December 1949 and continued a successful political career, including a six-year stint with the Public Accounts Committee from 1952 to 1958. He lost his seat in 1958, and regained it in 1961. Leslie resigned from his position in 1963 due to his wife's ill health. After the 1964 Senate elections he was suspended from the Country Party for five months for allowing how-to-vote cards similar to the

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 ...

's to be distributed. In 1967 Leslie was appointed

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE). Leslie died on 2 September 1974 in Repatriation General Hospital in Nedlands, Perth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Hugh Alan 1900 births 1974 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Moore National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Order of the British Empire South African emigrants to Australia People from Durban South African military personnel of World War I 20th-century Australian politicians Australian amputees