Hugh Main (22 August 1883 – 27 August 1961) was an Australian politician. He was 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 1920 until 1938, representing the electorates of

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...

(1920–1927) and Temora (1927–1938). Initially elected as a Progressive, he was a member of the party's rural "True Blues" faction that by 1927 had evolved into the Country Party.

Early years and military career

Main was born at

Saltcoats Saltcoats ( gd, Baile an t-Salainn) is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages al ...

on the west coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and was educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

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 ...

and St Peter's College and

Roseworthy Agricultural College Roseworthy Agricultural College was an agricultural college in Australia. It was north of Adelaide and west of Roseworthy town. It was the first agricultural college in Australia, established in 1883. It is now part of the University of Adela ...

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 ...

. He worked as an orchardist at Clare for a time, before establishing a wheat and wool property "Retreat" at

Illabo Illabo (pron. ILL a boh) is a locality in the South West Slopes part of the Riverina in New South Wales, Australia. It is situated about southwest of Bethungra and northeast of Junee. At the 2016 census, Illabo had a population of 144. Hi ...

Bethungra, New South Wales Bethungra is a locality in Junee Shire in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia situated on the Olympic Highway about 13 kilometres northeast of Illabo and 24 kilometres southwest of Cootamundra. History Bethungra Post Of ...

with his brother

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

around 1906. He was also a successful breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. Main enlisted in the 1st A.I.F. in 1916, and saw active service in France during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, rising to the rank of sergeant. He returned to his farm in 1919 with a highly regarded service record.

Political career

Main entered politics for the first time at the 1920 state election, when he was endorsed as a Progressive for multi-member

, elected as the third member ahead of the sitting member and premier, W. A. Holman. He campaigned hard on rural issues, distanced himself from city interests and won in one of the largest upsets in New South Wales history when he defeated the incumbent Premier, Nationalist

William Holman William Arthur Holman (4 August 1871 – 5 June 1934) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1913 to 1920. He came to office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), Labor Party, ...

, for the third and final seat. As a Progressive MLA, he was one of the "True Blues" led by (Sir)

Michael Bruxner Lieutenant Colonel Sir Michael Frederick Bruxner (25 March 1882 – 28 March 1970) was an Australian politician and soldier, serving for many years as leader of the Country Party (and its predecessors) in New South Wales. Born in the north o ...

and D. H. Drummond who broke with the party leadership in 1921 to oppose a coalition with the Nationalists for the 1922 election. He was re-elected in 1922 and 1925 largely under the banner of the rural faction, and joined the other "True Blues" in joining the nascent Country Party in 1927. After the abolition of the multi-member system, Main contested and won the new electorate of Temora. The conservatives in New South Wales won a landslide victory in 1932 under

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

leader Bertram Stevens, and Main was one of several Country Party MLAs invited to hold portfolios in a new coalition ministry. He became Minister for Agriculture on 16 May 1932 ; he also held the position of Minister for Forests for a brief period. In his new role, he aggressively pursued rural interests, including the development of improved farming infrastructure, the protection of small farmers, and reviewing legislation relevant to farming interests. He held the position until 1 April 1938, when he retired from both the ministry and from parliament. He was succeeded in Temora by

Doug Dickson Samuel Douglas Dickson (26 March 1894 – 27 July 1960) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1938 until his death in 1960. He was a member of the Country Party, serving as its Deputy ...

, a future deputy leader of the Country Party.

Life after politics

In 1938, Main retired to his farm after leaving politics, but continued to be involved in the Country Party, and served on its executive council from 1956 to 1957.

Personal

Main married Joan Helen Tregarthen (c. 1890 – 14 February 1974) at St Mark's,

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to ...

on 30 January 1923. He died at

on 27 August 1961 and was buried at Cootamundra cemetery with Presbyterian forms. She died in New South Wales, and her remains buried at

Frenchs Forest Frenchs Forest (pron. frenches) is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Frenchs Forest is 13 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Cou ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Main, Hugh 1883 births 1961 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly People from Cootamundra 20th-century Australian politicians