Russell Newton Stokes was an Australian politician.

Born in Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe, Victoria

Ivanhoe is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Banyule. At the 2006 Census, Ivanhoe had a population of 10,600.-History:...

 to manufacturer Henry Richmond Stokes and Emma Rowdon Wippell, he attended Melbourne Grammar School

Melbourne Grammar School

Melbourne Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, located in South Yarra and Caulfield, suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....

 and became a manufacturer with the family firm Stokes & Sons, based in Brunswick

Brunswick, Victoria

Brunswick is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moreland...

. He was the managing director and chairman of the company from 1932 to 1974. Stokes also owned a 600 acre dairy and Angus

Angus cattle

Angus cattle are a breed of cattle much used in beef production. They were developed from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeenshire and Angus in Scotland, and are known as Aberdeen Angus in most parts of the world....

 property at Yarra Glen and further property at Yea

Yea, Victoria

Yea is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. Located north-east of Melbourne via the Melba Highway, Yea sits at the junction with the Goulburn Valley Highway, and above sea-level. At the 2006 Census, Yea had a population of 1,052.- History :The...

. He married Margaret Black, with whom he had three children, on 16 November 1935. In 1944 he was the co-author of Political Rehabilitation in Australia, in which year he was also a foundation member of the Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

. He sat on the member qualifications committee from 1954 to 1956 and in 1958 was elected to 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:...

 as the member for 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...

. He served until his retirement in 1973 and died in 1974 at Cairns

Cairns, Queensland

Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...

; he is buried at Warringal Cemetery at Heidelberg

Heidelberg, Victoria

Heidelberg is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Banyule....

.