John Leckie (Australian politician)
Encyclopedia
John William Leckie was an Australia
n farmer turned politician.
Leckie was born at Alexandra, Victoria
and educated at Scotch College, Melbourne
. He played Australian rules football
for Fitzroy Football Club
(then in the Victorian Football Association) in 1895. He studied medicine at the University of Melbourne
for two years, but after falling out with his father he prospected for gold in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
and played football in Fremantle
. In 1897, he returned to Alexandra to run the family store, his father having died. In April 1898, he married May Beatrix Johnston. His wife died in 1910 and he moved to Melbourne
in 1912 and co-founded a firm of lithographic
printers and canister manufacturers. He married Hattie Martha Knight in April 1917.
In 1920, the eldest of his daughters from his first marriage, Pattie Maie
married future Prime Minister
Robert Menzies
.
for the House of Representatives
seat of Mernda
at the 1906 election. After leaving local government in 1911, he was elected as member for Benambra
in the Victorian Legislative Assembly
in 1913 as a Commonwealth Liberal Party
candidate.
He won the federal seat of Indi
in the 1917 election
for the Nationalist Party of Australia
. He lost his seat at the 1919 election
to a Victorian Farmers' Union candidate. He ran unsuccessfully for the state seat of Upper Goulburn in 1921 and then concentrated on his business and business groups.
At the 1934 election
, Leckie was elected Senator
for Victoria
as a member of the United Australia Party
. In October 1940, he became Minister without portfolio assisting the Minister for Trade and Customs
and Minister without portfolio assisting the Minister for Labour and National Service in his son-in-law's ministry
. In June 1941, he became Minister for Aircraft Production
and held that position until the defeat of the Fadden
government in October 1941. During the UAP's term in opposition, he was deputy leader of the party in the Senate. He lost his bid to be re-elected at the 1946 election
and served out his term ending in June 1947.
Three months later, Leckie died of cancer
at his home in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn
, survived by his wife and their son and by three daughters from his first marriage. His son Roland Leckie was the member for the state seat of Evelyn
from 1950 to 1952 and later a crown prosecutor and a judge of the County Court
.
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 farmer turned politician.
Leckie was born at Alexandra, Victoria
Alexandra, Victoria
Alexandra is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located at the junction of the Goulburn Valley Highway and Maroondah Highway , 26 kilometres west of Eildon, in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area...
and educated at Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. He played Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
for Fitzroy Football Club
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
(then in the Victorian Football Association) in 1895. He studied medicine at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
for two years, but after falling out with his father he prospected for gold in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...
and played football in Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
. In 1897, he returned to Alexandra to run the family store, his father having died. In April 1898, he married May Beatrix Johnston. His wife died in 1910 and he moved to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1912 and co-founded a firm of lithographic
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
printers and canister manufacturers. He married Hattie Martha Knight in April 1917.
In 1920, the eldest of his daughters from his first marriage, Pattie Maie
Pattie Menzies
Dame Pattie Maie Menzies GBE was the wife of Australia’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies.-Biography:...
married future Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
.
Political career
John Leckie was a member of the Alexandra Shire Council from 1900 to 1911 and was shire president in 1904-05. During his council service, he ran unsuccessfully for the Anti-Socialist ProtectionistsProtectionist Party
The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...
for the 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....
seat of Mernda
Division of Mernda
The Division of Mernda was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It was named after the town of Mernda, now a suburb in the City of Whittlesea in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It originally included the towns of Lilydale and Mitcham, now suburbs, and the towns of Seymour...
at the 1906 election. After leaving local government in 1911, he was elected as member for Benambra
Electoral district of Benambra
The Electoral district of Benambra is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is located in north-east Victoria and includes the towns of Chiltern, Wodonga, Yackandandah, Beechworth, Tallangatta, and Corryong...
in the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
in 1913 as a Commonwealth Liberal Party
Commonwealth Liberal Party
The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....
candidate.
He won the federal seat of Indi
Division of Indi
The Division of Indi is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. It is located in north-eastern Victoria. Its northern border is formed by the Murray River...
in the 1917 election
Australian federal election, 1917
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 May 1917. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
for the Nationalist Party of Australia
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
. He lost his seat at the 1919 election
Australian federal election, 1919
Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1919. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes defeated the opposition Australian...
to a Victorian Farmers' Union candidate. He ran unsuccessfully for the state seat of Upper Goulburn in 1921 and then concentrated on his business and business groups.
At the 1934 election
Australian federal election, 1934
Federal elections were held in Australia on 15 September 1934. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent United Australia Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons with coalition partner the Country Party led...
, Leckie was elected Senator
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
for Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
as a member of 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...
. In October 1940, he became Minister without portfolio assisting the Minister for Trade and Customs
Minister for Trade (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Trade has been Dr. Craig Emerson since 14 September 2010.-Portfolio:Currently the Minister for Trade administers the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade jointly with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, although prior to 1987 there was a separate Department of Trade...
and Minister without portfolio assisting the Minister for Labour and National Service in his son-in-law's ministry
Third Menzies Ministry
The Third Menzies Ministry was the twenty-eighth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 28 October 1940 to 28 August 1941.United Australia Party–Australian Country Party Coalition...
. In June 1941, he became Minister for Aircraft Production
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
and held that position until the defeat of the Fadden
Arthur Fadden
Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:...
government in October 1941. During the UAP's term in opposition, he was deputy leader of the party in the Senate. He lost his bid to be re-elected at the 1946 election
Australian federal election, 1946
Federal elections were held in Australia on 28 September 1946. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
and served out his term ending in June 1947.
Three months later, Leckie died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at his home in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn
Hawthorn, Victoria
Hawthorn is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara...
, survived by his wife and their son and by three daughters from his first marriage. His son Roland Leckie was the member for the state seat of Evelyn
Electoral district of Evelyn
The Electoral district of Evelyn is an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Assembly covering the urban fringe north east of Melbourne. It was first proclaimed in 1859.The seat has shrunk considerably in size as the eastern suburbs of Melbourne grew...
from 1950 to 1952 and later a crown prosecutor and a judge of the County Court
County Court of Victoria
The County Court of Victoria was established in 1852 by the County Courts Act 1852. The court has jurisdiction in the State of Victoria, Australia...
.