James Frederick Craig (22 December 1911 – 12 January 1989) was an Australian farmer and politician who was a Country 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 1959 to 1971, representing the seat of Toodyay. He served as a minister in the government of Sir

David Brand Sir David Brand KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1945 to 1975, and also the 19th and longest-serving Premi ...

. Craig was born in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

to Hilda Dagma (née Thornton) and James Burnett Craig. He attended

Scotch College, Perth , motto_translation = May God be with us, as He was with our forefathers , established = , founders = , type = Independent single-sex early learning, primary, and secondary day ...

, and then found work as a clerk with

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...

, working at

Welshpool Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...

. Craig enlisted in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

in 1939, and saw active duty in the Middle Eastern theatre. He initially returned to the railways after being discharged in 1942, and then from 1947 served as secretary and accountant for a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

based in the Swan Valley. From 1951 to 1952, he was also a member of the Midland Junction Town Council.James Frederick Craig
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 14 September 2016. Craig entered parliament at the 1959 state election, replacing the retiring

Lindsay Thorn Lindsay Thorn (7 June 1891 – 13 July 1971) was an Australian politician who was a Country Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1930 to 1959, representing the seat of Toodyay. He was a minister in the governmen ...

. After the 1962 election, he was elevated to the ministry, replacing

George Cornell George Cornell (13 November 1927 – 10 March 1966) was an English criminal and member of The Richardsons, who were scrap metal dealers and criminals from South London. Cornell was shot and killed by Ronnie Kray at The Blind Beggar public hou ...

Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

and Minister for Police. In a reshuffle after the 1965 election, Craig replaced

Ross Hutchinson Sir Ross Hutchinson, DFC (10 September 1914 – 19 December 1999) was an Australian rules footballer, coach and politician. He played for and coached East Fremantle, West Perth and South Fremantle in the West Australian National Football Le ...

as Chief Secretary, although he lost the transport portfolio to

Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was a Western Australian politician, and the 21st Premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Early life Court's family e ...

. He remained in the ministry until his retirement at the 1971 state election. Craig died in Perth in January 1989, aged 77. He had married Maria Rhoda Haynes in 1936, with whom he had three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, James 1911 births 1989 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People educated at Scotch College, Perth People from Kalgoorlie Western Australian local councillors Australian Army personnel of World War II