Graham Charles MacKinnon CMG ED (10 December 1916 – 27 June 1992) was an Australian politician who was a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

from 1956 to 1986. He served as a minister in the governments of

David Brand Sir David Brand Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving premier of Western Australia, in office from 1959 to 1971, and was state leader of the Liberal Pa ...

and

Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was an Australian politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 8 April 1974 to 25 January 1982. A member of the Western Australian Liberal Party, Liberal Par ...

Early life

MacKinnon was born in

Bridgetown, Western Australia Bridgetown is a town in the South West region of Western Australia, approximately south of Perth on the Blackwood River at the intersection of South Western Highway with Brockman Highway to Nannup and Augusta. History The area was origina ...

, to Rhoda Myrtle (née Moyes) and Charles Archibald MacKinnon. He attended

Bunbury Senior High School Bunbury Senior High School is a comprehensive public co-educational high day school, located in Bunbury, a regional centre in the South West region, south of Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of West ...

, and subsequently worked as a clerk and shop assistant.Graham Charles MacKinnon
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2016. MacKinnon enlisted in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

in 1940, and during the war served with the 2/4th Machine Gun in Malaya and Singapore, reaching the rank of lieutenant. He was a Japanese prisoner of war for three years after the

Fall of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...

. After the war's end, MacKinnon moved to Bunbury, where he owned a caravan manufacturer and later managed a sewing machine company. He was also president of the local branch of the Returned Services League (RSL).

Politics

At the 1956 Legislative Council elections, MacKinnon was elected to the two-member South-West Province, replacing the retiring Les Craig. He was made deputy chairman of committees in 1958, and served in that position until 1965. At the 1965 state election, MacKinnon transferred to the new Lower West Province. He made an honorary minister after the election, and a few months later was given a substantive position in the ministry, becoming

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

and Minister for Fisheries and Fauna. He was also made Minister for Environmental Protection (a new title) in December 1970, and held those positions until the Brand government's defeat at the 1971 election. MacKinnon returned to the ministry just three years later, appointed

Minister for Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

, Minister for Cultural Affairs, and Minister for Recreation in the new Court government. Following a reshuffle after the 1977 election, MacKinnon was made Minister for Conservation and the Environment, Minister for Fisheries and Wildlife, and Minister for Tourism. Another reshuffle occurred in August 1978, and his titles thereafter were Minister for Works, Minister for Water Supplies, and Minister for Tourism, which he held until leaving the ministry at the 1980 election. MacKinnon left parliament at the 1986 election, having returned to his original constituency (South-West Province) in 1974. In June 1980, he had been made a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG), for "political and public service". MacKinnon died in Perth in June 1992, aged 75. He had married Mary Theresa Shaw in 1940, with whom he had two sons. One of his nephews,

Barry MacKinnon Barry John MacKinnon (born 29 October 1944) is a former Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1977 to 1993. He was the state leader of the Liberal Party (and thus Leader of t ...

, was also a Liberal Party MP, and the two served together in parliament from 1977 to 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacKinnon, Graham 1916 births 1992 deaths Australian Army officers Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian prisoners of war Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Bridgetown, Western Australia World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Ministers for culture and the arts (Western Australia) Ministers for education (Western Australia) Ministers for health (Western Australia)

Early life

Politics

See also

References