William Allan Rodda (8 September 1917 – 27 May 2010) was an Australian politician who represented the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...

seat of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

for the

Liberal and Country League The South Australian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division), and often shortened to SA Liberals, is the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. It was formed as the Lib ...

and

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 ...

from 1965 to 1985. Rodda was born in Tumby Bay. He served as a bomber pilot with the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Upon his return, he took a position administering the

soldier settlement scheme Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlement ...

at Penola, and later became a sheep farmer at Naracoorte. He was elected to the House of Assembly at the 1965 election, and promoted to Cabinet in the last months of the

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

ministry in 1970. He again served in Cabinet when his party regained power in 1979 under

David Tonkin David Oliver Tonkin (20 July 1929 – 2 October 2000) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of South Australia from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Bragg at the 197 ...

, most notably as Chief Secretary, which included responsibilities for police and prisons. His ministerial term saw him deal with a number of controversial issues, including introduction of random breath testing for South Australian drivers, changes to the operation of prisons in the state, and public concern around police corruption. He resigned from the ministry in 1982 and retired from parliament in 1985.

References

Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of South Australia 1917 births 2010 deaths Liberal and Country League politicians People from Tumby Bay, South Australia Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force airmen Australian World War II pilots Australian World War II bomber pilots {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub