Arthur James Beck was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician. Born in Launceston

Launceston, Tasmania

Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...

, Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, he was educated at Launceston Grammar School before becoming a boot importer. He sat on Hobart City Council

City of Hobart

The City of Hobart is a Local Government Area of Tasmania, Australia. It is one of three local government areas covering the metropolitan area of the state capital, Hobart.-Government:...

 before undertaking military service 1914-1918. In 1940, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 as the United Australia Party

United Australia Party

The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...

 member for Denison

Division of Denison

The Division of Denison is anAustralian Electoral Division in Tasmania.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Sir William Denison, who was Lt-Governor of Van Diemens Land 1847-55...

, defeating sitting Labor

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 MP Gerald Mahoney

Gerald Mahoney

Gerald William Mahoney was an Australian politician. Born in Tasmania, he was educated in that state at Latrobe, becoming a painter and an official of the Painters' Union. In 1931 he was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as a Labor member for Denison...

. He was defeated in 1943 by Labor candidate John Gaha

John Gaha

John Francis Gaha , known as Frank, was an Australian politician. Born in Narrabri, New South Wales, he was educated at St Joseph's College in Sydney and the National University of Ireland, becoming a doctor and a house surgeon in Dublin...

. He turned to a business career and returned to Hobart City Council. Beck died in 1965.