James McLachlan (9 March 1871 – 1 December 1956) was an Australian politician. Born in

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...

in the

Mid North The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains and south of the Far North and the outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the southern ...

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 was educated at Winham College before becoming a farmer at

Dalkey Dalkey ( ; ) is an affluent suburb of Dublin, and a seaside resort southeast of the city, and the town of Dún Laoghaire, in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in the historic County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement ...

near where he grew up. His parents

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and Catherine, had both immigrated from Scotland. McLachlan married Ellen Louisa Jury in 1894 and abandoned farming in 1902 following a severe drought. After working as a storekeeper and agent, he was elected to the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

as the

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member for Wooroora in 1918, serving until 1930. His father had held the same seat from 1893 to 1902. He resigned on 31 January 1930 to take up an appointment on the

Pastoral Board of South Australia A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

. In the 1934 election, McLachlan was elected to the

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as a

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

Senator for South Australia, taking the seat from 1 July 1935. He served as Chairman of Committees from 1938 to 1941. McLachlan held his seat until his retirement in 1946 (by which time he was a member of 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 ...

). He died in 1956.

References

United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the South Australian House of Assembly 1871 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub