Keith McGarvie (13 March 1891 – 5 October 1969) was an Australian politician. He was a United Australia Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1933 to 1935, representing the electorate of Warrnambool.

Early life and election to parliament

McGarvie was born in Colac and educated at Pomborneit State School and Camperdown Grammar School. He fought in World War I, serving with the 8th battalion of the First Australian Imperial Force during the Gallipoli Campaign, and attaining the rank of sergeant. He was subsequently invalided home, and served as a recruiting officer at Camperdown. In 1922, McGarvie and his brother David inherited Greenwood, a 1200-acre Jersey cattle stud at Pomberneit. He was active in dairy and pastoral causes, serving as president of the Victorian branch of the Australian Jersey Herd Society, president of the Camperdown Pastoral and Agricultural Society, chairman of the Camperdown Glenormiston Dairy Company, the Western District Cooperative Company and the Co-operative Insurance Company of Australia, and as chief dairy cattle steward for the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria. McGarvie was a Shire of Heytesbury councillor from 1930 to 1936, and its president from 1935 to 1936. In November 1933, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in a by-election for the seat of Warrnambool, following the resignation of James Fairbairn to enter federal politics. He defeated independent candidate and former Labor MP Henry Bailey after a tight flow of Country Party preferences. He had campaigned upon staunch support of the Argyle ministry, support for the Premiers' Plan, supporting private enterprise and decreasing taxation.

In parliament

In 1934, there was some controversy around McGarvie's party membership prior to his 1933 preselection by the United Australia Party, when it was alleged by the Country Party that he had been a member of their party up until that time. McGarvie acknowledged that he had been receiving the party's newspaper and stated that he had been approached to stand for the Country Party at the previous election, but that he had declined the approach and denied the allegation that he had been a party member. McGarvie's denial of membership was disputed by the secretary of the local Country Party branch, who in turn denied that any approach had been made to McGarvie to stand for the previous election. In parliament, McGarvie raised concerns about the need for unemployment relief and vocational education for young people, supported the protection of the

Otway Ranges The Great Otway National Park is a national park located in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately southwest of Melbourne, in the Otway Ranges, a low coastal mountain range. It conta ...

rainforest as a water catchment, advocated for water supply improvements to the Western District, and was dismissive of concerns about restoration of public service wages following the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. He raised concerns on a number of occasions about the welfare of those in the Aboriginal community at Framlingham, and advocated land tenure for residents there on individual acreage, a higher level of sustenance, and "a local committee of experienced farmers and other residents to control and advise the blacks in forming their allotments". McGarvie ran for re-election at the 1935 state election, and while supporting the policies of the Argyle government, stated that he would "continue to exercise his freedom of thought on vital public questions". During his campaign, he raised issues about the state of public buildings in rural areas, suggested their renovation could be used as unemployment relief, and argued for temporary, rather than permanent, tariff protection for farmers, more freedom for private enterprise, and reiterated his continuing advocacy for a water supply scheme for the Western District. He was defeated by former member Bailey, who had stood as a Country Party candidate, making McGarvie one of only two sitting United Australia Party MPs to lose at that election.

Later years

He unsuccessfully contested five further elections following his 1935 defeat: the

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

and

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

state elections in Warrnambool, a

1940 by-election Year 194 ( CXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Septimius and Septimius (or, less frequently, year 947 ''Ab urbe co ...

in Polwarth, the 1952 election in Hampden, and the 1952 Legislative Council election in

South Western Province South Western Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council. It was one of the six original upper house Provinces of the bi-cameral Victorian Parliament created in November 1856, initially it had five members. Victoria was a ...

. In 1939, he suffered severe injuries to both legs when he fell from a buggy at Kennedys Creek after its horses bolted. He died at Colac in 1969 and was buried at Camperdown Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGarvie, Keith 1891 births 1969 deaths United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly People from Colac, Victoria 20th-century Australian politicians