James Sinclair Taylor McGowen (25 October 1905 – 9 November 1994) was an Australian politician. 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

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

from 1961 to 1964, representing the electorate of Bass. McGowen was born in Newtown in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and was educated at Tempe Technical School. He was the grandson of Labor

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...

James McGowen James Sinclair Taylor McGowen (16 August 1855 – 7 April 1922) was an Australian politician. He served as premier of New South Wales from 1910 to 1913, the first member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to hold the position, and was a key f ...

. He moved to

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...

in 1938 and became a retailer there, operating a newsagency, then a clothing store and shoe store. He married Hazel Goss at St John's Church in December 1947. McGowen was a

City of Launceston Launceston City Council (or City of Launceston) is a Local government in Australia, local government body in Tasmania, located in the city and surrounds of Launceston, Tasmania, Launceston in the north of the state. The Launceston local gov ...

councillor from 1949 to 1966 and mayor from 1958 to 1959. He also held a number of community roles, including chairman of the Launceston Hydrangea Festival and a member of the Launceston Fire Board, local ambulance board and Good Neighbour Council. In 1961 he was elected to the

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member for Bass in a countback following

Fred Marriott Fred Marriott (31 December 1872, Needham, Massachusetts - 28 April 1956) was an American race car driver. In 1906, he set the world land speed record at 127.659 mph (205.5 km/h) at the Daytona Beach Road Course, while driving the Stanl ...

's resignation. He was defeated at the 1964 election. He had previously been an unsuccessful candidate for parliament four times: three times for the Liberal Party in Bass and once as an independent for the Legislative Council, and was again unsuccessful in 1968 after his 1964 defeat. McGowen died in 1994 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

References

1905 births 1994 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Tasmania Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Tasmanian local councillors {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub