Keith Dodgshun (31 July 1893 – 12 May 1971) was a politician in Victoria, Australia. He was a member of 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 presidin ...

for just under 17 years, representing the electorates of

Ouyen Ouyen is a town in Victoria, Australia, located in the Rural City of Mildura at the junction of the Calder Highway and Mallee Highway, south of Mildura, and northwest of Melbourne. At the 2016 census, the town had a population of 1,045. His ...

and

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

for the Country Party from 1938 to 1955.

Early life

Dodgshun was born in the inner Melbourne suburb of

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

to warehouse manager Frederick William Dodgshun and his English wife Rosa May Russell. He was educated at

Camberwell Grammar School , motto_translation = By our deeds may we be known , established = , type = Independent, single sex, Anglican primary and secondary day school , denomination = Anglican , slogan ...

and the Burnley Agricultural College. He managed his family's property at Mount Egerton for several years before enlisting in the army.Dodgshun, Keith
''Re-member'' (Parliament of Victoria), 1985.

Military service

Dodgshun enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 7 November 1917,Dodds to Dodman
''World War I Nominal Roll'', Australian War Memorial. He was assigned to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade and stationed in France and Belgium during World War I. He was discharged from the army on 31 March 1919. On his return to Australia, Dodgshun settled in Hopetoun where he worked in the

soldier settlement Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlemen ...

scheme.

Political career

In 1922, Dodgshun joined the Country Party and became president of the party's Hopetoun branch. From 1933 to 1938, he was a local councillor in the Shire of Karkarooc, until he nominated for election to the lower house of the Victorian state parliament. Dodgshun was elected unopposed to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as the only candidate to nominate for the vacancy in Ouyen caused by the departure of

Albert Bussau Sir Albert Louis (Lou) Bussau (9 July 18845 May 1947) was a farmer, a Victorian politician and the Victoiran Agent General in London. Early years Bussau was born in Natimuk to carpenter and farmer Johann Joachim Heinrich Adolph Bussau and Maria ...

who had resigned to become Victoria's Agent-General in London, so the by-election scheduled for 5 May 1938 was not held. Dodgshun was first made a minister when he was made Chief Secretary in

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 ...

's first ministry, until the coalition between the Liberal and Country parties was dissolved after a dispute between Hollway and Country leader John McDonald.B. J. Costar
'Dodgshun, Keith (1893–1971)'
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 13 March 2013. On 27 June 1950, with the support of the Labor Party, McDonald overthrew Hollway's government and was appointed

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assemb ...

. Dodgshun was made

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

, Chief Secretary, Minister-in-Charge of Electrical Undertakings and Minister-in-Charge of Immigration. Hollway briefly regained power from 28 to 31 October 1952 as an independent Premier, but his commission was withdrawn by the

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and th ...

and Dodgshun regained his ministries in McDonald's cabinet, however McDonald was defeated by John Cain's Labor Party less than two months later at the 1952 Victorian state election.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodgshun, Keith Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Chief Secretaries of Victoria Deputy Premiers of Victoria Australian Army soldiers Australian military personnel of World War I National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria 1893 births 1971 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians People from Hawthorn, Victoria Military personnel from Melbourne Politicians from Melbourne