Joseph Neon Rowberry (13 May 1895 – 13 November 1972) was an Australian trade unionist and politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1958 to 1968, representing the seat of Warren. Rowberry was born in

Inveresk Inveresk (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a Conservation area (United Kingdom), conservation area since 1969. It is situated on s ...

, Scotland, to Isabella (née Fraser) and Joseph Neon Rowberry. He worked as a coal miner after leaving school, and then served with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during World War I, as a signalman with the

51st (Highland) Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

. Rowberry arrived in Australia in 1925, and worked for periods as a farm labourer (in Gnowangerup), road worker (in Northcliffe), timber worker (in Pemberton), and traffic inspector (in Manjimup). He was vice-president of the Timber Workers' Union from 1945 to 1955.Joseph Neon Rowberry
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 3 October 2016. Rowberry entered parliament at the 1958 Warren by-election, caused by the resignation of Ernest Hoar (the sitting Labor member). He was re-elected at the

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

, 1962, and 1965 elections, and retired at the 1968 election, aged 72. Rowberry died in Perth in November 1972, aged 77. He had married twice, and had two children by his second wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowberry, Joseph 1895 births 1972 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Trade unionists from Western Australia British Army personnel of World War I Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from East Lothian Scottish emigrants to Australia