Kenneth Hamilton Vaughan (29 October 1934 – 22 June 2011) was an Australian politician. Vaughan's father Clifford Llewelyn Vaughan, a butcher, died from

blood poisoning Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

in 1939 and he was raised by his mother, Ruby Sarah, in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, attending school in

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits under ...

. He was sent to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

to live with his aunt in 1950 to begin work as a clerk for

Queensland Railways Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

. He concluded his apprenticeship in 1955, but was conscripted for national service in August 1956, serving as an army sergeant at

Wacol Wacol is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Wacol had a population of 3,761 people. Geography Wacol is bounded to the west by the Brisbane River and to the north loosely by Wolston Creek. It is south-west of t ...

. In 1958 he was elected shop steward for the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), and in 1959 married Lesley Cowdroy, in which year he also joined the Labor Party. In 1974 Vaughan contested the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

unsuccessfully, and was subsequently appointed the ETU's assistant state secretary. In 1977 he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembl ...

for the seat of Nudgee. When Labor won office in 1989 under

Wayne Goss Wayne Keith Goss (26 February 1951 – 10 November 2014) was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996, becoming the first Labor Premier of the state in over thirty two years. Prior to entering politics, Goss was a solic ...

, Vaughan was appointed Minister for Resource Industries. In 1991 he was appointed Minister for Employment, Training and Industrial Relations, but he retired to the backbench in 1992 and from politics in 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Ken 1934 births 2011 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly People from Brisbane Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland