Leslie "Les" Craig CMG (23 November 1892 – 9 February 1966) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Council 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 1934 to 1956, representing South-West Province. Craig was born in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, a town in Western Australia's Wheatbelt region. He was educated at

Hale School Hale School is an independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Named after the school founded by Bishop Mathew Blagden Hale in 1858, Hale School claims to b ...

, in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, and later at

Melbourne Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denominatio ...

. Craig enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in October 1914, and served with the

10th Light Horse Regiment The 10th Light Horse Regiment is a "mounted infantry" regiment of the Australian Army Reserve, raised in Western Australia (WA). While the name of the 10th Light Horse originated in the first months of World War I, the regiment traces its cere ...

in the Gallipoli Campaign. He was

wounded in action Wounded in Action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

in August 1915, which resulted in the amputation of his left leg. After returning to Australia, Craig farmed at Balingup, where he had a

Border Leicester sheep The Border Leicester is a British breed of sheep. It is a polled, long-wool sheep and is considered a dual-purpose breed as it is reared both for meat and for wool. The sheep are large but docile. They have been exported to other sheep-produci ...

-stud, and later at

Dardanup Dardanup is a small town in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of Western Australia. The town is in the fertile Ferguson valley and is near the Ferguson River (Western Australia), Ferguson River. The first European settlemen ...

.Leslie Craig
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2016. At the 1927 state election, he contested the seat of Bunbury for the Nationalist Party, but lost to the sitting member,

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

's Frederick Withers. In April 1928, Craig was elected to the Dardanup Road Board. He would serve as a councillor until November 1951, when he moved to

, including as chairman from 1947. Craig was elected to parliament in January 1934, winning a Legislative Council by-election caused by the death of John Ewing. After finishing Ewing's term, which expired in 1936, he was re-elected another three times, serving one eight-year term and two six-year terms before his eventual retirement in 1956. Craig worked as a company director after leaving parliament, and in the

1966 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1966 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lond ...

was made a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG). He died in Perth later that year. Craig's wife, Frances Eileen (née Boyd), was a president of the

Associated Country Women of the World The Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) is the largest international organization for both rural and urban women, with a membership of nine million in over 70 countries. ACWW holds a triennial conference and publishes a magazine, ''The Cou ...

, and his daughter-in-law,

June Craig Margaret June Craig AM (née Lynn; born 8 December 1930) is a former Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1974 to 1983, representing the seat of Wellington. She was a minis ...

, was a member of parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Les 1892 births 1966 deaths Australian amputees Australian Army officers Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People educated at Hale School People educated at Melbourne Grammar School People from York, Western Australia Australian politicians with disabilities 20th-century Australian politicians Western Australian local councillors