Arthur Bickerton
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Arthur William Bickerton (27 August 1919 – 18 June 1992) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of
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 1958 to 1974, representing the seat of Pilbara. He served as a minister in the government of
John Tonkin John Trezise Tonkin (2 February 1902 – 20 October 1995) was an Australian politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 3 March 1971 to 8 April 1974. A member of the Labor Party, Tonkin was a minister in the Willcock, Wise a ...
. Bickerton was born in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, and after leaving school worked as a farm labourer in
Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...
,
Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...
. He 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 by the end of the war was a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
in the
Royal Australian Artillery The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a Regiment of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia's f ...
. After being discharged from the military, Bickerton moved to
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, where he managed mines at
Muswellbrook Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle. Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney bas ...
and Ben Bullen, and eventually founded his own contracting business at Lithgow. He moved to Western Australia in 1955, to work at a tin mine on the Pilbara's Shaw River. Bickerton was elected to the Marble Bar Road Board in 1956,Arthur William Bickerton
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
serving until he was elected to state parliament at the 1958 Pilbara by-election (occasioned by the death of the sitting member,
Aloysius Rodoreda Aloysius Joseph "Loy" Rodoreda (29 May 1892 – 11 March 1958) was an Australian politician who was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1953 to 1956. A member of the Labor Party, he sat in parliament from 1933 to ...
). After Labor's victory at the 1971 state election, Bickerton was appointed Minister for Housing and Minister for Fuel in the Tonkin ministry. In a 1972 reshuffle, he was replaced as Minister for Fuel by Don May, but was additionally made Minister for Fisheries and Fauna. In another reshuffle the following year, Bickerton was made
Minister for the North-West Minister for Regional Development is a position in the government of Western Australia, currently held by Don Punch of the Labor Party. The position was first created in 1977, for the government of Charles Court, and has existed in most governm ...
. The Labor government was defeated at the 1974 election, with the seat of Pilbara falling to the
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
candidate Brian Sodeman, a 31-year-old engineer. Bickerton became the first serving minister since
James Kenneally James Joseph Kenneally (15 May 1879 – 9 October 1954) was an Australian politician, railwayman and unionist from Sydney. He served as federal president of the Labor Party in the 1930s. Education and early career Educated by the Christian B ...
in 1936 to lose his seat at a general election. After leaving politics, he served as a director of various mining companies, and was also chairman of the Greyhound Racing Association from 1984 to 1987. Bickerton died in Perth in 1992, aged 72.


References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bickerton, Arthur 1919 births 1992 deaths Australian Anglicans Australian Army officers Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Melbourne Western Australian local councillors 20th-century Australian politicians People from Ringwood, Victoria Military personnel from Melbourne