Australia and the World Past and Present

Recently I delved into the lives of some former members of parliament for Gippsland South.

The seat continues right into the present, but the for this article I have focused on the period 1859 – 1970.

There is a veritable rogues gallery of figures.

One of the things that struck me was the degree to which these individuals reflected the changing history of the region.

I had an inkling that the electorate of South Gippsland had been a more recent creation than it was.

In fact, the electorate stretches right back to the 1859.

In many ways, the region was still a kind of Wild West. Or maybe we should say the “wild east”.

Decades before, European explorers had made their way down from Sydney, through the Monaro Plains, and over the Dividing Range looking for prime grazing land for their cattle. And they found it. The area became used for huge cattle runs.

The first member of South Gippsland, Angus McMillan (1859-60), was one of these early explorers and pastoralists. He was a native of Scotland. In recent years it has been alleged that he had been involved in massacres of the local Kurnai people.

Why did he have such a short term as the member of parliament? It turns out that he had run into financial trouble and was near bankruptcy. He was forced to go back into exploration. He was tasked with clearing tracks and mapping in the Victorian high country. He died in 1865 from a horse accident.

George Hedley (1861-62)

Hedley had been born in England and had trained as a physician. In Australia he had been a clerk and the editor of the Gippsland Guardian. In 1872 he became a proprietor in his own right, acquiring the Gippsland Times.

Peter Snodgrass (1864-67)

Many of the early MPs were born overseas. There is no surprise here. It was in line with the demographics of the time. Snodgrass was no exception. He was born in Portugal and became a pastoralist.

In 1938 moved down from New South Wales to Port Phillip District.

One of things that surprised me about this fellow, was his penchant for duelling.

In 1840, he took part in a duel with William Ryrie, but things didn’t go as Snodgrass had planned. It turns out that he shot himself in the toe.

Thomas McCombie (1868-69)

It has got to be said that many of the early MPs for Gippsland South didn’t have very long tenures.

McCombie was another Scot.

He arrived in Melbourne 1841 and served on the Melbourne Town Council.

McCombie was very much in favour of separating from New South Wales. He got his wish in 1951 with Victoria becoming a separate colony.

He passed from this world back in Scotland.

George Macartney (1869-71 and 1877-78)

The next MP was not native-born either.

This native of Ireland would become the youngest Doctor of Laws in Victoria.

He practiced as a barrister, but by 1873 he was insolvent.

He was reelected in 1877 but died a year later from an overdose.

Francis Mason (1871-77 and 1878-86).

Macon later served as Speaker of the House.

After politics, he served as a magistrate.

He was chairman of various wage boards. The role of these boards was to mediate disputes between workers and employers.

He passed away in 1915.

Arthur Groom (1886-89)

In Groom, we have the first native-born member for Gippsland South, having been born in Van Diemen’s Land.

He was a member of the Railway Standing Committee in 1890 and a member of the royal commission of the Victorian coal industry, 1889. These were key bodies dealing with important developments in Victoria. Europeans has spread out and settled in all parts of the state. Pastoralism and agriculture were steadily increasing. Farmers had more and more product to sell, but they needed better transport to move their product around. Local MPs were being pressured to construct ever more railways. And all those trains needed coal.

Groom later won the federal seat of Flinders in the election of 1901.

Thomas Livingston

Livingston was born at Bathurst, New South Wales.

His father had been a shepherd.

Thomas became a teacher in Victoria and then a journalist.

He started a butter company in 1888.

He became Minister for Public Instruction, Minister for Mines (1914-17) and Minister for Forests (1915-17).

His stint in as member was long-lasting, some 20 years. His run was much longer than his predecessors.

Before Livingston, MPs were unaligned with political parties. But he was associated with various parties at various times.

Walter West (1922-27 and 1927-29)

West was a member of the Nationalist Party.

He had been born in Victoria and moved to Traralgon in 1884 where he worked as a blacksmith and built coaches.

Due to health reasons, he made a move into more administrative roles. He served as the Secretary of the Shire of Traralgon for more than 27 years.

Henry Bodman (1927-27)

Bodman was a farmer.

He had also been an auctioneer at Bairnsdale.

He was on Alberton Shire Council at various times between 1886 and 1927.

He passed away only 8 months into his term.

Sir Herbert Hyland (1927-70)

Hyland was born in Prahran.

His parents had died when he was young and he left school at the age of 12.

He eventually moved to South Gippsland and opened his own general store, which turned out to be a success.

He made a move into dairying.

By 1923 he was on the Woorayl Shire Council.

A member of the Country Party, he would rise to become Minister of Transport (1938-43), Minister of State Development (1947-48 / 1950-52), and Minister of Prices (1950-52).

He was knighted in 1952.

He became leader of the Country Party in 1955 and was known for clashing with what he saw as Henry Bolte’s city-centrism.

He died in Prahran and a state funeral was held in his honour.