Thomas Hallett Scholfield, MC (9 May 1894 – 25 June 1964) was an Australian politician. He was a

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members o ...

from 1931 to 1940, representing the electorate of Wannon. Scholfield was born in Talangatuk East, Victoria, where he attended state schools and became a farmer. He enlisted to serve in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in January 1915, fought with the 21st Battalion at Gallipoli and in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and received the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

and

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

, returning to Australia in June 1919. He subsequently became a soldier settler in the Balmoral area before acquiring a farm near

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, and was a councillor and president of the

Shire of Kowree The Shire of Kowree was a local government area in western Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1862 until 1995. History Kowree was first incorporated as a road district on 24 June 1862, and became a shire on ...

. He was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1931 federal election, defeating Labor MP John McNeill. He had campaigned on a platform of addressing the needs of primary producers. He held the seat until his defeat by Labor candidate

Don McLeod Donald Martin "Smokey" McLeod (August 24, 1946 – March 11, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played briefly in the National Hockey League and six full seasons in the World Hockey Association between 1970 and 1978. Pl ...

at the 1940 election. He unsuccessfully recontested the seat as an independent in 1943. During

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 opposing ...

, Scholfield served as deputy-assistant quartermaster general in the Volunteer Defence Corps. Following World War II, Scholfield moved to New South Wales and assumed a prominent role as organising secretary of the

New England New State Movement The New England New State Movement was an Australian political movement in the twentieth century. Founded as the Northern Separation Movement, the aim of the movement was to seek the secession of the New England region and surrounding areas f ...

. Scholfield died in 1964.

References

United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Wannon Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1894 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-politician-stub