William Gerrand Gibson (19 May 1869 – 22 May 1955) was an Australian politician. He was the first member of the Country Party elected to federal parliament, serving in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

(1918–1929, 1931–1934) and as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

(1935–1947). He was the party's deputy leader from 1923 to 1929 and was a government minister in the Bruce–Page Government.

Early life

Gibson was born on 19 May 1869 in

Gisborne, Victoria Gisborne () is a town in the Macedon Ranges, located about north-west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest town in the Macedon Ranges Shire, with a population of 13,963 as of June 2018. Gisborne is known for its country homest ...

. His parents Grace (née Gerrand) and David Gibson were both born in Scotland, and arrived in Victoria in 1860. His younger brother

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

also became a member of parliament. Gibson was educated locally, and worked with his father for a period before acquiring his own farm. He married Mary Helen Young Paterson on 4 November 1896 at Riddells Creek. As well as farming, Gibson established himself as a merchant, running general stores at

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...

and Lancefield. He was president of the Romsey and West Bourke Agricultural Society and the local branch of the

Australian Natives Association The Australian Natives' Association (ANA) was a mutual society founded in Melbourne, Australia in April 1871. It was founded by and for the benefit of native-born white Australians and membership was restricted exclusively to that group. The A ...

. In 1910, Gibson bought a subdivision of Gnarpurt,

James Chester Manifold James Chester Manifold (10 February 1867 – 30 October 1918) was an Australian politician and philanthropist. Early life Manifold was born in Camperdown, Victoria, attended Geelong Grammar School, and went to England with his family in 18 ...

's property near Lismore in the Western District. He subsequently established a successful grazing property, with his brother David taking up land nearby in Cressy. He was elected manager of the Western Plains Co-operative Society in 1911.

Politics

Early career

In 1911 Gibson was elected secretary of the Lismore branch of the People's Party. In 1916, Victorian farmers became suspicious of price-fixing of the price of wheat under the ''

War Precautions Act 1914 The War Precautions Act 1914 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which gave the Government of Australia special powers for the duration of World War I and for six months afterwards. It was held by the High Court of Australia in '' Farey v ...

'' and established the

Victorian Farmers' Union The Victorian Farmers' Union (VFU) was an association of farmers and primary producers formed in 1914 in the Australian state of Victoria. Although initially formed as an "absolutely non-political" entity, the VFU became a political party in 1916 ...

in response and Gibson was elected secretary of its Lismore branch. His brother, David Havelock (Harvey), won the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

seat of Grenville for the union in 1917. At a 1918 by-election, he won the federal seat of Corangamite for the Farmers' Union, defeating

James Scullin James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 – 28 January 1953) was an Australian Labor Party politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Scullin led Labor to government at the 1929 Australian federal election. He was the first Catho ...

on preferences. It was the first win for what would become the Country Party. In February 1920, when parliament resumed after the 1919 federal election, Gibson chaired the inaugural meeting of the parliamentary Country Party, which saw

William McWilliams William James McWilliams (12 October 1856 – 22 October 1929) was an Australian politician who served as the inaugural leader of the Country Party, in office from 1920 to 1921. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1903 to 192 ...

elected unopposed as leader.

Government minister

He successfully pressed for regulated wheat and dairy prices to be raised until the abolition of price controls in 1921. He was

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a Ministry (government department), ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having ...

from 1923 to 1929, and encouraged the construction of telephone lines, the extension of roadside mail deliveries and the building of post offices in country districts. He also encouraged the development of radio broadcasting. In 1928, he was appointed Minister for Works and Railways, as well. Gibson was defeated with the

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

government at the 1929 elections and returned to farming. He won Corangamite back at the 1931 elections, but

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...

did not take the Country Party into his ministry.

Senate

At the 1934 elections, he was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and he remained a senator until he retired in 1947. Gibson was elected to the Senate on a joint ticket with the UAP, with the support of the Victorian state executive of the Country Party. This was opposed by the federal executive, which endorsed the sitting Country Party senator Robert Elliott; he lost his seat. Gibson took his seat on 1 July 1935 as a member of the Country Party. However, on 23 September the parliamentary party voted to expel him. He subsequently sat as an "Independent Country" senator. He was not re-admitted to the party until November 1939, when the new leader

Archie Cameron Archie Galbraith Cameron (22 March 18959 August 1956) was an Australian politician. He was a government minister under Joseph Lyons and Robert Menzies, leader of the Country Party from 1939 to 1940, and finally Speaker of the House of Represe ...

invited him to rejoin. In 1941, Gibson was elected chair of the Joint Committee on Wireless Broadcasting, which came to be known as the Gibson Committee due to his "vigorous leadership". Its report led to the passage of the ''

Broadcasting Act 1942 The Broadcasting Act 1942 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia, passed in the first ministry of the 14th Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin. It was amended by the ''Broadcasting and Television Amendment Act 1985'' and the ''Broadcast ...

'' by the Curtin Government.

Later life

Gibson retired to "Cluan", his home in Lismore, and in retirement enjoyed fishing, shooting, and golf. He died at the Lismore Bush Nursing Hospital on 22 May 1955, aged 86. He was survived by his son David and daughter Margaret, having been widowed in 1944. His daughter Grace died suddenly in 1946 at the age of 48; she had been his private secretary for 20 years.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, William Gerrand National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Corangamite Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria 1869 births 1955 deaths Members of the Cabinet of Australia People from Gisborne, Victoria 20th-century Australian politicians Independent members of the Parliament of Australia