Sir Reginald Charles Wright (10 July 190510 March 1990) was an Australian barrister and politician. 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 ...

and served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1950 to 1978. He held ministerial office in the Gorton and McMahon Governments, although he was known for

crossing the floor In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom) ...

Early life

Wright was born in Central Castra, Tasmania in 1905. He was educated at

Devonport High School Devonport High School is a government co-educational comprehensive junior secondary school located in , Tasmania, Australia. The school caters for approximately 500 students from Years 7 to 12. The school is administered by the Tasmanian Dep ...

and the University of Tasmania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

Career

Wright was admitted to the bar in 1928 and lectured in law at the University of Tasmania. In 1941, he enlisted in the second Australian Imperial Force and was promoted to captain in 1943. Wright was elected as a Liberal member for the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

in November 1946 and was the first State president of the Liberal Party in Tasmania. In November 1949, he resigned to enter federal politics. He was elected to the Senate at the 1949 election, taking his seat in February 1950. He was appointed to the ministry in February 1968 in the John Gorton government as Minister for Works and Minister in charge of Tourist Activities. He held these positions in the

McMahon McMahon, also spelled MacMahon (older Irish orthography: ; reformed Irish orthography: ), is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac'' ''Mathghamhna'' meaning 'son of the bear'. The surname came into use around the 11th ce ...

government, which was defeated at the 1972 election. Wright holds the record in the Australian Parliament for "

" to vote against his own party, which he did 150 times. He did not contest the 1977 election. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

on 3 June 1978, for his services to the Tasmanian Parliament. He left the Liberal Party in June 1978 and sat as an independent until his retirement on 30 June.

Later life

An accomplished barrister and orator, Wright returned to practising law on retiring from the Senate in 1978. In retirement he returned to a farm near the farmhouse in Castra where he had been born and died there; he was accorded a State Funeral in Ulverstone, Tasmania. His younger brother, Emeritus Professor Sir Douglas Wright AK was Chancellor of the University of Melbourne. He predeceased Reg by only ten days. His older brother, John Forsyth Wright was a Member of the House of Assembly in the

Parliament of Tasmania The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the Governor of Tasmania, the Tasmanian House of Assembly (the lower house), ...

. Two of Sir Reginald's sons achieved distinction in the law. His youngest son, Philip Wright (1945-2021) was a magistrate in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...

, while eldest son

Christopher Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or " Anointed", and φέρε� ...

AO is a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister ...

, former Solicitor-General of Tasmania, former judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania, former deputy president of the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is an Australian tribunal that conducts independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT review decisions made by Australian Gove ...

and former head of Tasmania's Police Review Board.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Reg 1905 births 1990 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Tasmania Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Australian barristers Australian solicitors Australian Knights Bachelor Australian politicians awarded knighthoods University of Tasmania alumni Independent members of the Parliament of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army officers