James Reay Fraser (8 February 1908 – 1 April 1970) was a Member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

for the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

from 1951 to 1970. Fraser was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and educated at Launceston High School. He worked as a chainman and axeman and as a teacher in Victorian state schools from 1927 to 1935. He then worked as a journalist until he enlisted in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

in 1942 and served in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

until 1945. From 1946 to 1948 he worked as a journalist in the Department of Information 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 ...

and then as press secretary and private secretary to Senator

Nick McKenna Nicholas Edward McKenna (9 September 1895 – 22 April 1974) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1944 to 1968. He held ministerial office in the Chifley Government from 1946 to 1949 as Minister for Health a ...

until 1951.

Political career

Fraser became a member of the

Advisory Council in 1949 and defeated

Lewis Nott Lewis Windermere Nott (12 February 1886 – 27 October 1951) was an Australian politician, medical practitioner and hospital superintendent. He represented two federal electorates, more than and 21 years apart. Early life and war service ...

for the House of Representatives seat of the

in the 1951 election. He did not have full voting rights until 1966; until then he could only vote on matters relating to the territory. He put in time and energy looking after the interests of his constituents. In 1959, he married Helen Whitten Rowland. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 1970, survived by his only son Andrew; his wife died in March 2012. His brother, Allan Fraser, was MP for the adjoining seat of Eden-Monaro from 1943 to 1966 and from 1969 to 1972. The Division of Fraser and the suburb of

Fraser, Australian Capital Territory Fraser () is a suburb in the Belconnen district of Canberra, located within the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Fraser lies at the north west end of Belconnen. The suburb is named after James Reay Fraser, who was Member of the Aust ...

, both in

, were named after him. The name of the Division of Fraser was changed in 2016 to Fenner, as a division in Victoria has been named after prime minister

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

(1975-83) from 2019.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, James Reay Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia 1908 births 1970 deaths Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Australian Capital Territory Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers 20th-century Australian politicians