Reginald 'Rex' Colin Townley CMG (15 April 1904 – 3 May 1982) was an Australian politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

from 1950 to 1956. He also played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for the

Tasmanian cricket team The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield and the ...

in his younger years, dismissing

Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

in the 1935 season.

Cricket career

As Tasmania didn't compete in the

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...

at the time of his cricketing career, Townley's appearances for his state were limited to matches against touring sides such as the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

as well as out of season first-class fixtures against other Australian states. A legbreak bowler, Townley took 36 wickets at 35.52 in first-class matches. His claim to fame as a cricketer was dismissing

, caught and bowled for 369, in a first-class match against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, the legendary batsman's second highest ever score at that level. He also claimed in his career the wickets of English Test cricketer Ernest Tyldesley and South African Test player Bruce Mitchell.

Political career

Like his younger brother Athol, the Australian

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

from 1958 to 1963, Townley went into politics. He joined the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

at the 1946 election as an Independent, representing Denison. The Liberal Party installed Townley as their leader for the 1950 election but lost to incumbent Premier

Robert Cosgrove Sir Robert Cosgrove (28 December 1884 – 25 August 1969) was an Australian politician who was the 30th and longest-serving Premier of Tasmania. He held office for over 18 years, serving from 1939 to 1947 and from 1948 to 1958. His involve ...

, despite achieving a 9.8% swing. With the Liberals regaining two seats which had been held by Independents since 1948, Labor stayed in power only thanks to the support of the remaining Independent, Bill Wedd. Townley also led the Liberals into the

1955 election The following elections occurred in the year 1955. Africa * 1955 Liberian general election * 1955 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1955 Cambodian parliamentary election * 1955 Indonesian Constituent Assembly election * 1955 Indon ...

and picked up a seat to leave the House of Assembly with a deadlock as both parties had 15 seats out of a possible 30 in the assembly. Cosgrove however remained as

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of Ta ...

. On 30 June 1965, Townley resigned from parliament, having never failed to defend his seat in an election.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Townley, Rex 1904 births 1982 deaths Australian cricketers Tasmania cricketers Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Tasmania Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Australian sportsperson-politicians Leaders of the Opposition in Tasmania 20th-century Australian politicians Cricketers from Hobart

Cricket career

Political career

See also

References

External links