Henry Jefferson Percival "Jeff" Bate (5 March 190615 April 1984) was an Australian politician, representing the

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 ...

and the

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 ...

for most of his career, but ended as an independent.

Early life

Jeff Bate was born in

Tilba, New South Wales Central Tilba and Tilba Tilba are two villages near the Princes Highway in Eurobodalla Shire, New South Wales, Australia. At the , Central Tilba and surrounding areas had a population of 288 (Tilba Tilba had 95). History The area was original ...

on 5 March 1906, a son of Henry John Bate, 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 ...

, and his wife Lily Percival, a leading

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

. He was educated at

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(1918–21),

The King's School, Parramatta The King's School is an Education in Australia#Non-government schools, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, Pre-school education, early learning, primary school, primary and secondary school, secondary day and boarding school, boardi ...

(1922–23) and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. He became a farmer at Bodalla,

Wallaga Lake Wallaga Lake is an estuarine lake in Bega Valley Shire in New South Wales, Australia, the largest lake in southern NSW. It is located between Bermagui to the south and between Tilba Tilba to the north, situated beneath Mount Gulaga, in the tra ...

and Tilba Tilba. He won prizes for dairy fodder conservation at the Royal Agricultural Society show.

Career

Bate became director of the Bodalla Co-operative Dairy Company from 1927, later managing the cheese co-operative. He was a Councillor of the

Eurobodalla Shire Eurobodalla Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located in a largely mountainous coastal region and situated ...

Council 1929–37, and its President 1936–37. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the 2nd Australian Imperial Forces as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. He was a member of the Armoured Corps in 1940–45, and saw service in Egypt, Cyprus, the Middle East, New Guinea and New Britain. He followed his father's footsteps into the NSW Legislative Assembly, where he represented the

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

Wollondilly Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollon ...

from 1938 to 1949. He represented the

until 1945, then joined the newly founded

. He moved to federal politics, and in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

he was elected as the

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 ...

member for the seat of Macarthur. In the lead-up to the 1972 federal election, Bate lost Liberal

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

in Macarthur to

Max Dunbier Maxwell John Rowland "Max" Dunbier (3 February 1938 – 14 September 2016) was an Australian politician. He was the Liberal member for Campbelltown in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1968 to 1971. Dunbier was born in Guildfor ...

, a former state MP. At a meeting in

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands. Bowral once served ...

on 9 October, he agreed to re-contest the seat as an independent. He immediately ruled out supporting a Labor government if re-elected. A "Bring Back Bate Committee" was established to coordinate his campaign. He decision to stand against an endorsed Liberal candidate resulted in his party membership automatically lapsing. At the election he placed third on

first preferences In certain ranked-voting systems, a first-preference vote (or first preference, 1st preference, or primary vote) is the individual voter's first choice amongst (possibly) many. In certain ranked systems such as Instant-Runoff Voting or Single T ...

behind Dunbier and ALP candidate

John Kerin John Charles Kerin (born 21 November 1937) is an Australian economist and former Labor Party politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 1975 and again from 1978 to 1993. He held a number of senior ministerial roles in ...

, who was elected.

Marriages

Bate was married three times: in 1928 to Gerta Ellen Homburg (1907-1985) (two children, John and Margaret); in 1958 to future

Country Women's Association The Country Women's Association (CWA) is the largest regional and rural advocacy group in Australia. It comprises seven independent State and Territory Associations, who are passionate advocates for country women and their families, working ...

president Thelma Kirkby; and on 19 February 1969 to Dame Zara Holt, the widow of Prime Minister

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...

Death

Bate died in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

on 15 April 1984, aged 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bate, Jeff Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Macarthur Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1906 births 1984 deaths People educated at Newington College Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army officers