Edward Raymond Meagher CBE ED (22 November 1908 – 31 May 1988) was an Australian politician.
Background
He was born in Brunswick to storeman Edward Roden Meagher and Florence May Williams. He attended Melbourne Technical College, and from 1933 to 1948 was a municipal officer for Brunswick City Council. On 9 September 1939 he married Winifred Jean Hard; they had one son.
After World War II Meagher briefly ran a newsagency, milk bar and grocery in the Melbourne suburb of Beaumaris, Victoria.
Army career
On 2 May 1940, Meagher was appointed as a captain in the Australian Imperial force. By October of that year he had been promoted to the rank of Major. He served in Syria and Java in World War II before his capture, after which he was a prisoner of war working on the Burma Railway (1942–45). He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire and awarded the Efficiency Decoration for his service.
Political career
In 1955 he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as the Liberal and Country Party member for Mentone, and transferred to Frankston in 1967. From 1956 to 1958 he was government whip, and from 1958 to 1961, secretary to the cabinet. In 1961, he entered the ministry but was not given a portfolio. He later held the portfolios of Immigration (1962), Transport (1962–67), Housing (1967–72), Forests (1967–73), Aboriginal Affairs (1967–72), and Transport again (1973–76). He retired from politics in 1976, in which year he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Controversy
Meagher, who always positioned himself to the right of the Liberal Party, once famously said: "I didn't get filled full of bullet holes on the Burma Railway to see a bunch of socialists take over this country".
Death
Meagher died in Frankston, Victoria on 31 May 1988. He was survived by his son.
References
- ^ Rodan, P. K. "Meagher, Edward Raymond (1908–1988)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- Parliament of Victoria (2001). "Meagher, Edward Raymond". re-member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
| Victorian Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byGeorge White | Member for Mentone 1955–1967 |
Succeeded byBill Templeton |
| New seat | Member for Frankston 1967–1976 |
Succeeded byGraeme Weideman |
- 1908 births
- 1988 deaths
- Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria
- Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
- Vice-presidents of the Board of Land and Works
- Chief secretaries of Victoria
- Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Burma Railway prisoners
- Politicians from Melbourne
- People from Brunswick, Victoria
- Australian military personnel of World War II
- Military personnel from Melbourne
- Ministers for forests (Victoria)
- Ministers of immigration (Victoria)
- Ministers for treaty and first peoples (Victoria)
- Ministers for transport infrastructure (Victoria)