Sir Thomas Charles Drake-Brockman, (15 May 1919 – 28 August 1992) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for

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 ...

from 1959 to 1978 and also briefly in 1958. He was a member of the

National Country Party The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a fe ...

(Country Party prior to 1974). He served as Minister for Air from 1969 to 1972.

Early life and war service

Drake-Brockman was born in

Toodyay, Western Australia Toodyay (, nys, Duidgee), known as Newcastle between 1860 and 1910, is a town on the Avon River in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, north-east of Perth. The first European settlement occurred in the area in 1836. After flooding i ...

, the son of Robert James and Rose Ita Drake-Brockman.Sacks Margaret A. (ed.) ''The WAY 79 Who is Who: Synoptic biographies of Western Australians,'' Crawley Publishers, Nedlands, W.A., 1980. He was educated at

Guildford Grammar School Guildford Grammar School, informally known as Guildford Grammar, Guildford or GGS, is an independent Anglican coeducational primary and secondary day and boarding school, located in Guildford, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Initial ...

. On 23 May 1942 he married Edith Sykes, with whom he had five children. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, he joined the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

's No. 460 Squadron RAAF in 1941 as sergeant air-gunner and served in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, Malta and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross in September 1944. After the war he was a farmer and grazier and became vice president of the Australian Wool and Meat Producers Federation. On 9 August 1972, Drake-Brockman married his second wife, Mary McGinnity.

Parliamentary service

Drake-Brockman was appointed to a

casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...

as a Country Party senator on 12 August 1958. His appointment expired at the 1958 election, when he was elected to the Senate, with effect from 1 July 1959. He was appointed Minister for Air in

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...

's second ministry, as a result of

Dudley Erwin George Dudley Erwin (20 August 191729 October 1984) was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1955 to 1975, representing the Liberal Party. He was Chief Government Whip from 1967 to 1969, and played a role in ...

's falling out of Gorton's favour. He remained minister until the defeat of the

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, ...

government at the 1972 election. He was Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Minister for Administrative Services in

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

's caretaker government after the dismissal of the Whitlam government, but was not reappointed to Fraser's ministry after the 1975 election. He did not stand for re-election at the 1977 election and his term came to an end on 30 June 1978. To date, he is the last member of what is now the National Party to be elected to the Senate from Western Australia. Drake-Brockman was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in June 1979. He was survived by his wife, Mary, and four daughters and a son from his first marriage.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake-Brockman, Tom 1919 births 1992 deaths 1975 Australian constitutional crisis Australian World War II pilots Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Australian Air Force officers Australian Knights Bachelor People educated at Guildford Grammar School People from Toodyay, Western Australia 20th-century Australian politicians