John Alexander Hipworth (18 May 1899 – 9 January 1979) was an Australian politician. He was born in

Mathoura Mathoura is a small town in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. At the , Mathoura had a population of 938. The town's name is derived from an aboriginal word for 'windy' ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to labourer Benjamin Hipworth and Margaret Tully McKenzie. 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 was an army instructor, and he was wounded in France in 1917. After the war he farmed near

Kerang Kerang is a rural town on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture, lucerne and grain. It is located north-west of Melbourne on the Murray V ...

, and he remained in the military with the 17th Light Horse, becoming commanding officer in 1936. On 17 June 1921 he married Violet Bessie Mapson, with whom he had five children. 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 was a

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. Shortly after his return from the war in 1945, 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 ...

as the Country Party member for

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At , Swan Hill had a population of 11,508. Indigenous Peopl ...

. He defected to the newly renamed

Liberal and Country Party The Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division), branded as Liberal Victoria, and commonly known as the Victorian Liberals, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1949 as ...

in 1949 and assumed the position of Assistant Minister of Public Works, Housing and Electrical Undertakings, which he held until 1950. He was a supporter of

Thomas Hollway Thomas Tuke Hollway (2 October 1906 – 30 July 1971) was the 36th Premier of Victoria, and the first to be born in the 20th century. He held office from 1947 to 1950, and again for a short period in 1952. He was originally a member and the lead ...

, and in 1952 was Minister of Lands, Soldier Settlement and

Water Supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

in Hollway's seventy-hour government. He lost his seat to a Country Party candidate in 1952, and contested it again as an independent Liberal in 1955, 1958 and 1961; on the last occasion he was formally expelled from the Liberal and Country Party for opposing an endorsed candidate. He worked as a real estate agent in Kerang until 1963, and served on Kerang Shire Council from 1960 to 1963. He retired to

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

in 1963 but returned to Kerang in 1973. Hipworth died at Kerang in 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hipworth, John 1899 births 1979 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Victorian Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Vice-Presidents of the Board of Land and Works Presidents of the Board of Land and Works 20th-century Australian politicians Ministers for Water (Victoria)