Dr Leslie James Albert Parr (15 June 1897 – 3 December 1956) was an Australian politician and a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

from 1951 until his death. He was a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. Parr was born in

Rockdale, New South Wales Rockdale is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rockdale is located 13 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Rockdale is one of the administrative ce ...

, attending

Sydney Boys High School , motto_translation = With Truth and Courage , established = , location = Cleveland Street, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pu ...

in 1910–14. He was the son of a draper and graduated from the medical faculty of the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

. He initially worked as a general practitioner but then specialized in Rheumatology and was the foundation president of the Australian Rheumatology Association. During World War Two he served with the

Royal Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian coloni ...

and reached the rank of Major. Following the war he joined the Liberal Party and was elected the state president. After an unsuccessful attempt to win the seat of

Dulwich Hill Dulwich Hill is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 7.5 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Inner West Council. Dulwich Hill str ...

at the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

state election. Parr was elected to the New South Wales Parliament as the Liberal member for the seat of Burwood at the

1951 by-election Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United K ...

caused by the death of the sitting Liberal member Gordon Jackett. He retained the seat at the next election but died as the sitting member in 1956. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office. On his death Parr endowed the ''Parr Rheumatic Prize'' (now known as the ''Triennial Parr Prize in Rheumatology'') which is awarded every three years by the Australian Rheumatology Association for an important contribution to rheumatology research.

References

1897 births 1956 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub