Alexander Fraser (Australian politician)

Alexander John Fraser MC (22 August 1892 9 July 1965) was an Australian politician.

Alexander Fraser
Senator for Victoria
In office
15 May 1946  27 September 1946
Preceded byRichard Keane
Succeeded byJack Devlin
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Grant
In office
13 May 1950 (1950-05-13)  5 December 1952 (1952-12-05)
Preceded byFrederick Holden
Succeeded byLeslie D'Arcy
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Caulfield East
In office
28 May 1955 (1955-05-28)  30 May 1958 (1958-05-30)
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Caulfield
In office
31 May 1958 (1958-05-31)  9 July 1965 (1965-07-09)
Preceded byJoe Rafferty
Succeeded byIan McLaren
Personal details
Born
Alexander John Fraser

(1892-08-22)22 August 1892
Fairfield, Victoria
Died9 July 1965(1965-07-09) (aged 72)
Malvern, Victoria
NationalityAustralian
Political partyUnited Country (194652)
Liberal (195561)
Spouses
Ivy Elizabeth Hume
(m. 1919)
    Catherine Boyd
    (m. 1929)
      Ilene Blackley
      (m. 1955)
      Children3 sons, 2 daughters
      Alma materMelbourne University
      OccupationCompany manager

      Australian rules football career
      Playing career
      Years Club Games (Goals)
      1914–1915 Melbourne 10 (2)
      Total 10 (2)
      Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

      Fraser was educated at Kyneton College in Kyneton, Victoria, before becoming a company manager. He was a good enough Australian rules footballer to play ten games for Melbourne in the 1914 and 1915 Victorian Football League seasons.[1]

      In May 1919, an unidentified former Melbourne footballer, wrote to the football correspondent of The Argus as follows:

      "In 1914 the Melbourne football team, after its junction with the University, was a fine team, and succeeded in reaching the semi-finals.
      Out of this combination the following players enlisted and served at the front:—
      C. Lilley (seriously wounded), J. Hassett, H. Tomkins (severely wounded), J. Evans (seriously wounded), W. Hendrie, R. L. Park, J. Doubleday (died), A. Best, C. Burge (killed), C. (viz., A.) Williamson (killed), J. Brake, R. Lowell, E. Parsons (seriously wounded), A. M. Pearce (killed), F. Lugton (killed), A. George, C. Armstrong, P. Rodriguez (killed), J. Cannole (viz., Connole), A. Fraser (seriously wounded), T. Collins.
      These are all players of note, and in themselves would have formed a very fine side, but there is only one of them playing at the present time, viz., C. Lilley, who, as a matter of fact, takes the field under some disability owing to severe wounds which he received on service." — The Argus, 16 May 1919.[2]

      He served in the First Australian Imperial Force, 10th Machine Gun Company from 1915 to 1919 with the rank of Lieutenant. He was awarded a Military Cross and wounded three times.[3] He was an organiser with the Australian Producers' Wholesale Federation from 1937 to 1946. From 1946 to 1948 he was Secretary of the United Country Party of Victoria, and also served as chairman of government advisory bodies.[4] On 15 May 1946, he was appointed to the Australian Senate as a Country Party Senator for Victoria, filling the vacancy caused by the death of Labor Senator Richard Keane. He was defeated at the 1946 election,[5] but in 1950 entered the Victorian Legislative Assembly as the member for Grant. He left the Assembly in 1952, but returned in 1955 as the Liberal Party member for Caulfield East, transferring to Caulfield in 1958. He was Minister for State Development in 1959 and Minister for Forests 1959–1961. Fraser died in 1965.[6]

      References

      1. "Alex Fraser". AFL Tables.
      2. Old Boy (16 May 1919). "Football: Notes and Comments". The Argus. p. 8. Retrieved 22 December 2022 via Trove.
      3. "Alexander John Fraser". Re-Member. Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
      4. Thompson, L. H. S. "Fraser, Alexander John (1892–1965)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
      5. Drinkwater, Derek. "FRASER, Alexander John (1892–1965) Senator for Victoria, 1946". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
      6. Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
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