Stanley Tunstall "Stepper" Stephens

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(13 February 1913 – 23 March 1986) was an Australian politician. He was a Country Party member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

from 1944 to 1973, representing the electorate of

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

. He served as Minister for Housing and Minister for Co-operative Societies in the

Askin Askin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Ambrose Askin, British rugby player *Frank Askin, professor and activist *John Askin (1739–1815), fur trader in Canada *John Askin Jr. (c1765–1820), fur trader and government offici ...

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

government. Stephens was born in Blayney, and was educated at

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex school, co-educational Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary school, secondary day school, located in Petersh ...

and

Murwillumbah High School , motto_translation = I strive, I undertake, I achieve , established = , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school , principal = Peter Howes , enrolment = 440 , enrolment_as_of = 2018 , teaching_staff = ...

. He became a journalist, and served as editor of the '' Mullumbimby Star'' from 1932 to 1939. He enlisted in the army at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and saw action at

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near th ...

, before being severely wounded in the Battle of El Alamein. Initially left for dead, he managed to survive, but lost the sight in one eye and suffered impaired vision in the other. He returned to Australia, underwent rehabilitation, and returned to working as a journalist. Stephens nominated as a Country Party candidate for the seat of

at the 1944 state election, and was easily elected. He was re-elected nine times, running unopposed in 1950, 1953 and 1959. He served as Country Party

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

from 1953 until the election of the Askin government, when he was appointed to the ministry as Minister for Housing and Minister for Co-operative Societies. While the relevant minister, he was responsible for the passage of the ''Credit Union Act 1969'', pioneering legislation overseeing the introduction of

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...

s. Stephens resigned in the middle of his tenth term in 1973, and the subsequent by-election was won by Country Party candidate

Jack Boyd John Charles (Jack) Boyd (3 December 19213 March 1985) was an Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1973 until 1984. He was a member of the Country Party and its successors. Boyd was born in Murwi ...

. He was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in 1976, and died in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of Lindfield in 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Stanley 1913 births 1986 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Australian politicians People from Tweed Heads, New South Wales People educated at Fort Street High School