Sir Leslie Charles Diver (4 November 1899 – 4 August 1995) was an Australian politician who served as a Country Party 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 1952 to 1974. He was President of the Legislative Council from 1960 to 1974. Only Clive Griffiths and Sir John Kirwan have served in the position longer.

Early life

Diver was born 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 i ...

to Charlotte Ella (née Pearce) and Joseph William Diver. Leaving school at an early age, he worked for a period as a farm labourer and contractor before buying his own farm at Yorkrakine (a small Wheatbelt town) in 1924. Diver was elected to the

Kellerberrin Road Board The Shire of Kellerberrin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about west of Merredin and about east of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is the town of ...

in 1933, and served until 1946. He was chairman in 1940, and again from 1942 to 1946.Leslie Charles Diver
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 14 May 2016.

Politics

A long-time member of the Country Party, Diver first stood for parliament at the 1950 Legislative Council election, but was defeated by Norm Baxter in his candidacy for Central Province. He eventually entered parliament in May 1952, after winning the by-election caused by the death of Garnet Wood. Following the retirement of Sir Charles Latham in 1960, Diver was elected President of the Legislative Council. He served in the position for almost 14 years (a term length surpassed by only Clive Griffiths and Sir John Kirwan), finally retiring from politics in 1974.

Later life

Diver was knighted for his service in June 1975, on the recommendation on the government of Sir

Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was a Western Australian politician, and the 21st Premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Early life Court's family e ...

. He died in Kellerberrin in August 1995, aged 95. At the time of his death, he was the oldest-lived MP in Western Australia's history, although several others have since died at greater ages.''The Western Australian Parliamentary Handbook (Twenty-Third Edition)''
, p. 242.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diver, Leslie 1899 births 1995 deaths Australian Anglicans Australian Knights Bachelor Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Presidents of the Western Australian Legislative Council National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Western Australian local councillors 20th-century Australian politicians