Arthur Dalgety Bridges, (19 November 1901 – 22 May 1968) was an Australian Chartered accountant, company director and politician. He was a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

for the 22 years from 1946 to 1968 representing 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. For example, while the political systems ...

, becoming Leader of the New South Wales Opposition in the Legislative Council from 1962 until 1965. He served as Leader of the Government in the council as well as on the Askin cabinet as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Child and Social Welfare from 1965 to his death in office in 1968.

Early years and background

Arthur Dalgety Bridges was born in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1901, the son of schoolteacher Frederick Bridges and Ivy May Campbell. After being educated at Fort Street Boy's High School, Bridges worked for his brother on a citrus farm near Yenda, New South Wales. After qualifying as an accountant in 1924, Bridges rose to be a Fellow of the

Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia was the professional accounting body representing Chartered Accountants in Australia before it merged with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants to become Chartered Accountants ...

(FCA) and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries. Bridges also became established in his own firm, Bridges and Steel (later A.D Bridges & Co). Becoming recognised as a leading financial adviser, Bridges served as a director of numerous companies in a variety of areas. He married Rachel Duckworth on 2 November 1929 and had a daughter and a son.

Political career

A committed

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, Bridges would eventually become treasurer of Presbyterian church of New South Wales and a National Councillor from 1927 until 1932. Through this, Bridges joined the conservative

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

and its successor, the Democratic Party. As a councillor in both parties, Bridges was a member of the committee which established

in 1945–46. Initially serving as a councillor, Bridges rose to be New South Wales vice-president and a Federal Councillor from 1946 until 1965. Bridges was elected to the indirectly elected

on 14 March 1946 and took his seat on 23 April 1946. Bridges eventually replaced Hector Clayton as Liberal leader in the Council in 1962, thereby becoming Leader of the New South Wales Opposition in the Legislative Council. He served thus until May 1962, when Liberal leader

Robert Askin Sir Robert William Askin, GCMG (4 April 1907 – 9 September 1981), was an Australian politician and the 32nd premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, b ...

led the Liberal/Country Coalition to victory at the 1965 election. As the now Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council, Bridges was sworn into the cabinet as

Vice-President of the Executive Council The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executiv ...

and as Minister for Child Welfare and Social Welfare. While in parliament, Bridges was vice-president of the Royal Blind Society an honorary secretary of Blinded Ex-serviceman's Club, a committee member of Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, the vice-president of

Young Men's Christian Association YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

and a fellow of Senate of

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

from 1967 until 1968. Bridges served in government until his death in office aged 66 on 22 May 1968. On his death, Premier Askin noted that he had "an apparently inexhaustible energy which was a source of wonder to all who knew him" while the leader of the opposition Labor Party,

Pat Hills Patrick Darcy Hills (31 December 1917 – 22 April 1992) was a New South Wales politician. He served in various high offices across the state most notably the Deputy Premier of New South Wales, Leader of the Opposition and as the Lord Mayor ...

, lamented: "Of all the sad occasions which have come upon this venerable House of Parliament, none was so universally felt as the news of the death of our late colleague".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Arthur 1901 births 1968 deaths Australian accountants Australian Presbyterians Businesspeople from Sydney Leaders of the opposition in New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales People educated at Fort Street High School United Australia Party politicians 20th-century Australian politicians Ministers for families and communities