Mervyn John Reginald "Curly" Anderson (4 April 1909 – 14 November 1971) was a member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly 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 Assembly h ...

Biography

Anderson was born at

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, the son of John Anderson and his wife Clara Jane (née Harrold). He was educated at Toowoomba State School and upon leaving he was a delivery boy for father's grocery store. He was next proprietor of a service station before being the managing director of Maranoa Transport Pty Ltd and chairman and director of Western Transport Pty Ltd. On 17 January 1935 he married Ethel Roberts Nairne and together had two sons and one daughter. Anderson died suddenly at home in November 1971.

Public life

Anderson started off in politics as a councilor on the Drayton Shire Council before becoming an alderman on the

Toowoomba City Council The City of Toowoomba was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the centre and inner suburbs of the regional city of Toowoomba. The City covered an area of , and existed as a local governme ...

including being

Mayor of Toowoomba This is a list of mayors of the City of Toowoomba and the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In March 2008 the City of Toowoomba was amalgamated with the Shires of Crows Nest, Rosalie, Jondaryan, Cambooya, Clifton, Millmerran, and ...

from 1952 to 1958. He then entered state politics by beating the former

Deputy Premier of Queensland The deputy premier of Queensland is a role in the Government of Queensland assigned to a responsible Minister in the Australian state of Queensland. It has second ranking behind the premier of Queensland in Cabinet, and its holder serves as act ...

and the then leader of the Australian Labor Party in Queensland, Jack Duggan at the

1957 Queensland state election Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 3 August 1957 to elect the 75 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The major parties contesting the election were the Queensland Labor Party led by Premier Vince Gair, the ...

by winning the seat of

for 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 ...

. The seat of Toowoomba was abolished before the

1960 Queensland state election Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 28 May 1960 to elect the 78 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The election followed the enactment of the ''Electoral Districts Act 1958'' which increased the Assembly from ...

and Anderson then won the seat of Toowoomba East, holding it till his retirement from politics in 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Mervyn John Reginald Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1909 births 1971 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians