Morton William "Mort" Schell (born 13 July 1943) is a former Australian politician who was a National Party member of the Legislative Assembly 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 ...

between 1986 and 1989, representing the seat of Mount Marshall. Born in Goomalling, a small Wheatbelt town, to Winifred Lilia (née Kenworthy) and Roland William Schell, Schell was educated 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 ...

, boarding at Wesley College. He subsequently returned to Goomalling to farm, initially with his family and later independently, and also became involved with what is now the

Western Australian Farmers Federation Western Australian Farmers Federation (WAFarmers) is an agricultural organisation in Western Australia. In the one hundred years of its existence, the various interactions with other groups, and the separation, then inclusion of political activit ...

. He obtained a pilot's licence in 1966, and for several years worked as a commercial pilot and flying instructor based at

Jandakot Airport Jandakot Airport is a general aviation (GA) airport located in Jandakot, Western Australia, about south-southwest of the "general aviation area of the Airport West precinct" at Perth Airport. Jandakot airport opened in 1963. From 1 July 1998 ...

. A former state secretary of the Young Country Party, and a member of each of the various iterations of the National Party, Schell was third on the Nationals' ticket for 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 ...

at the 1984 federal election. He successfully contested Mount Marshall at the 1986 state election, winning the seat off a sitting

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member, Bill McNee, on a nine-point swing. However, prior to the 1989 election, Mount Marshall was abolished in a redistribution, with Schell instead contesting the neighbouring Liberal-held seat of Moore. Bill McNee was also contesting Moore, replacing the retiring

Bert Crane Albert Victor "Bert" Crane (27 January 1923 – 16 August 2003) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1974 to 1989, representing the seat of Moore. He represented the National Count ...

as the Liberal candidate, and defeated Schell's bid for re-election. After losing his seat in parliament, Schell became the owner and manager of the

Joondalup Joondalup () is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, approximately north of Perth's central business district. It contains the central business district of the regional City of Joondalup and acts as the primary urban centre of Perth's outer ...

franchise of Jetset, a travel agency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schell, Mort 1943 births Living people Australian Anglicans Australian aviators Australian businesspeople National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People educated at Wesley College, Perth People from Goomalling, Western Australia Commercial aviators