Condor Laucke

Sir Condor Louis Laucke, KCMG (9 November 1914 – 30 July 1993)[1] was an Australian Liberal Party politician who served in both the South Australian House of Assembly and the Federal Senate, before becoming Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia.

The Honourable
Sir Condor Laucke
KCMG
President of the Senate
In office
17 February 1976 – 30 June 1981
Preceded byJustin O'Byrne
Succeeded byHarold Young
Senator for South Australia
In office
2 November 1967 – 30 June 1981
Preceded byClive Hannaford
Succeeded byRobert Hill
Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia
In office
27 June 1982 – 28 May 1992
GovernorDonald Dunstan (1982–91)
Roma Mitchell (1991–92)
Preceded bySir Walter Crocker
Succeeded byBasil Hetzel
Member of the South Australian Parliament
for Barossa
In office
3 March 1956 – 6 March 1965
Preceded byElectorate re-established
Succeeded byMolly Byrne
Personal details
Born(1914-11-09)9 November 1914
Greenock, South Australia
Died30 July 1993(1993-07-30) (aged 78)
Greenock, South Australia
Political partyLiberal

Early life

Condor Laucke was the youngest son of a German immigrant, Friedrich Laucke, who had migrated to South Australia from Bremen in 1895. In 1899, his father established Laucke Mills at Greenock in South Australia's Barossa Valley.[2] Laucke was educated at Immanuel College and the School of Mines in Adelaide,[3] and after graduating, joined the family business, becoming Director and General Manager of what was now a large milling and stock feed enterprise in 1947.[4]

State politics

Laucke was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly in the 1956 election, representing the Electoral district of Barossa[5][6] as part of Sir Thomas Playford's Liberal and Country League government. He was re-elected in 1959 and 1962, and from 1962 to 1965 served as Government Whip and was regarded by colleagues as a potential future leader of the Liberal and Country League.[3] However Laucke lost his seat to Labor candidate Molly Byrne in the 1965 election[7] which swept the Liberal and Country League from office after 32 years in government—an election campaign in which Barossa, where northern Adelaide urban sprawl was overflowing into an otherwise rural and conservative electorate, was particularly targeted by Labor.

Federal politics
Laucke as President of the Senate

Laucke then moved into Federal politics, being appointed as a Senator for South Australia to fill the vacancy left by the death of Senator Clive Hannaford, his term beginning on 2 November 1967.[8] He represented South Australia until 1981, being re-elected in 1967, 1974 and 1975,[1] and was President of the Australian Senate from 17 February 1976 until 30 June 1981.[9][10]

Other activities

In 1974, Laucke was one of the founding members of the Barons of Barossa, an organisation formed to promote the Barossa Valley and its winemaking and grape growing industries, to preserve its heritage, traditions and standards, and to carry out philanthropic works.[11]

On 30 December 1978, Laucke was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George "for Services to the Parliament of Australia."[12]

After retiring from the Federal Parliament, Laucke acted as Lieutenant Governor of South Australia from July 1982 to April 1992,[13][14] during which time he performed the role of Governor for more than 300 days, while Governor Sir Donald Dunstan was either ill, out of the state or visiting remote areas.[15]

References
  1. "1977 Senate – South Australia". Psephos. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  2. "Laucke Mills History". Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  3. H.G.P. Chapman (17 August 1993). "Condolences: Hon. Sir Condor Louis Laucke, KCMG". Hansard. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  4. "Condor Louis Laucke". Barons of Barossa. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  5. "Sir Condor Louis Laucke KCMG". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  6. "Statistical Record of the Legislature 1836 to 2007". Parliament of South Australia. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  7. Marchant, Sylvia. "Laucke, Sir Condor Louis (1914–1993)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  8. "Index of Senate appointments 1901-2003". Psephos. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  9. Marchant, Sylvia. "LAUCKE, Sir Condor Louis (1914–1993)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  10. "Former Presidents of the Senate". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  11. "Barons of Barossa History". Barons of Barossa. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  12. "Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) entry for Senator Condor Louis Laucke". It's an Honour, Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 30 December 1978. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  13. "The Governor". Governor of South Australia. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  14. "Hetzel sworn in". The Canberra Times. 29 May 1992. p. 16. Retrieved 1 December 2022 – via Trove.
  15. Peter A. Howell. "The Governors" (PDF). History Trust of South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2008.

 

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