Harry Vivian Shearn (28 April 1892 – 21 January 1951) was an Australian politician who was an independent member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1936 until his death, representing the seat of Maylands. Shearn was born in

Guildford, Western Australia Guildford is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, 12 km northeast of the city centre within the City of Swan. Guildford was founded in 1829 as one of the earliest settlements of the Swan River Colony. It is one of only three towns in the ...

, to Matilda Anne (née Connolly) and Michael Shearn. He worked for his father's real estate agency after leaving school, and took it over completely following his father's death in 1917. Shearn was elected to the Perth Road Board in 1930, and served as chairman from 1935 to 1936.Harry Vivian Shearn
Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 January 2017. He entered parliament at the 1936 state election, winning Maylands from the Labor Party's

Robert Clothier Robert Allan Clothier, DFC (October 21, 1921 – February 10, 1999) was a Canadian stage and television actor most famous for his role as Relic on the CBC television series, ''The Beachcombers''. Biography Like many of his contemporaries, ...

. After the 1947 state election produced a

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisla ...

, Shearn and another independent, William Read, gave their support to the

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, allowing

Ross McLarty Sir Duncan Ross McLarty, (17 March 1891 – 22 December 1962) was an Australian politician and the 17th Premier of Western Australia. Early life McLarty was born in Pinjarra, Western Australia, the youngest of seven children of Edward McLarty ...

to form a government. The situation persisted after the 1950 election, albeit with the support of another independent, David Grayden. Shearn died suddenly in January 1951, aged 58."DEATH OF Mr. H. V. SHEARN AFTER SUDDEN ILLNESS"
''The West Australian'', 22 January 1951. He had married Emily Ann Watts in 1918, with whom he had two children, Hartley Vivian (Viv) and Marian (Lorraine).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shearn, Harry 1892 births 1951 deaths Independent members of the Parliament of Western Australia Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Western Australian local councillors

See also

References