Sir Albert Louis (Lou) Bussau (9 July 18845 May 1947) was a farmer, a Victorian politician, and the Victorian Agent General in London.

Early years

Bussau was born in

Natimuk Natimuk is a town in Western Victoria, Australia. It is located about northwest of Melbourne. A further west of Natimuk is one of Australia's best climbing areas, Mount Arapiles. At the 2016 census, Natimuk had a population of 514, up from 44 ...

to carpenter and farmer Johann Joachim Heinrich Adolph Bussau, and Maria Ernestina, nee Rokesky. He attended

Warracknabeal Warracknabeal ( ) is a town in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, located in the Wheatbelt (Australia), Victorian wheatbelt. Situated on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek, 330 km northwest of Melbourne, it is the bus ...

state school until he was 12 years old, after which he left to work for his father. With his mother's encouragement, he continued his education, first at night at a private college, and then by correspondence with the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

law faculty, becoming an articled clerk. He was employed by the legal firm, J.S.Wright-Smith, attending to business in the Warracknabeal, Beulah and Hopetoun districts, travelling by bicycle to visit clients. He was later commissioned to open an office for J. S. Wright-Smith in Hopetoun. He read extensively, attended Labor Party meetings, and was a lay-preacher in the

Baptist Church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

. On 22 April 1912, he married Mary Scott Baird, a Ballarat teacher. They had no children. In 1915, after a terrible drought, he bought 640 acres (259 hectares) of land north of Hopetoun to grow wheat and raise fat lambs, later extending the farm in partnership with share farmers.

Politics

In 1916, Bussau became a supporter of

Percy Stewart Percy Gerald Stewart (18 October 1885 – 15 October 1931) was an Australian politician. He was an original member of the Victorian Farmers' Union and long a radical campaigner for farming interests. He helped bring down Stanley Bruce's go ...

and the radical

Victorian Farmers' Union The Victorian Farmers' Union (VFU) was an association of farmers and primary producers formed in 1914 in the Australian state of Victoria. Although initially formed as an "absolutely non-political" entity, the VFU became a political party in 19 ...

, advocating on rural issues. Bussau’s interest in representative politics found local expression when he was elected to the Karkarooc Shire Council. He served as a councillor from 1921 to 1932, and was president from 1926 to 1927. In 1927, he was a founding member of the Victorian Wheatgrowers’ Association (VWA) and was a VWA organiser, becoming the VWA president in 1933. He was the president of the Country Progressive Party in 1929 and, from 1931 to 1932, was vice-president of the United Country Party. In 1932, he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

for the electorate of Ouyen, representing the United Country Party. He was Transport Minister for a time,

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and

Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

in the government of

Albert Dunstan Sir Albert Arthur Dunstan, KCMG (26 July 1882 – 14 April 1950) was an Australian politician who served as the 33rd premier of Victoria from 1935 to 1943 and from 1943 to 1945 and as the third deputy premier of Victoria for five days in ...

between 2 April 1935 and 1 April 1938, Bussau resigned to become Agent-General for Victoria in London from 1938-1940. In 1938, he visited Germany and observed their brown coal mines. During

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

of London in 1940-41, he was actively engaged in Fire Watch duties and was nicknamed as "the Mad Australian" for the daring he showed in that role.

Australian Natives'Association

Bussau was a member of Hopetoun

Australian Natives' Association The Australian Natives' Association (ANA) was a mutual society founded in Melbourne, Australia in April 1871. It was founded by and for the benefit of White native-born Australians, and membership was restricted to that group. The Association's ...

ANA Branch No. 43 when he was elected to the ANA Board at the 1919 Annual Conference. He was elected Chief President at the Annual Conference in

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale (locally ) (Gunai language, Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, situated in a region traditionally inhabited by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated popu ...

in 1923. He retired from the Board in 1933. He was a vigorous forthright speaker.

Later years

In recognition of his Fire Watch and other activities in London, he was knighted in 1941. Despite receiving the knighthood, he always preferred to be addressed as "Lou". He returned from London to Victoria via the US wheat belt, taking up the role of Air Raid Precautions adviser in 1943, based on his experience in that role in England. He became inaugural chairman of the

Australian Wheat Board AWB Limited was a major grain marketing organisation based in Australia. Founded in 1939 by the Government of Australia as the Australian Wheat Board, in 1999 it became a private company, owned by wheat growers. It was acquired by Agrium in 2010 ...

in 1945. Bussau died at South Yarra in 1947.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bussau, Albert 1884 births 1947 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Attorneys-general of Victoria Solicitors-general of Victoria Australian Knights Bachelor 20th-century Australian politicians Ministers for transport infrastructure (Victoria)