James McDonald (13 August 1889 – 11 January 1938) was an Australian politician. Born in

Wallan, Victoria Wallan , traditionally known as Wallan Wallan (large circular place of water), is a town in Victoria, north of Melbourne's Central Business District. The town sits at the southern end of the large and diverse Shire of Mitchell which extends f ...

, to storekeeper John Roderick McDonald and Marion Frances Menere, he grew up in Wallan and farmed in the Kyneton- Woodend area dating back to 1910. 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 ...

, he served for two years with the Australian Imperial Force, during which time he was seriously wounded; after his return, he became president of the Woodend Returned and Services League. In August 1923, he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

in a by-election for the seat of Daylesford, representing the Labor Party, but in September, he was defeated in a recount. At the 1924 state election, he won the seat again, but it was abolished in 1927 and McDonald tried but failed to win Mildura. From 1929 on, he lived in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, where he died after a long period of poor health in 1938.

References

1889 births 1938 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Australian farmers Australian Army soldiers 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Labor-Victoria-MP-stub