Robert "Bob" Hetherington (8 January 1923 – 30 January 2015) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, political scientist and mental health advocate.

Career

Hetherington finished high school at age 16. He worked in Adelaide before enlisting in the

2nd AIF The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

in 1942, serving in Australia and Papua New Guinea. He was discharged in 1946 after working with international prisoners of war in Manilla. He enrolled in the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on ...

, graduating in 1950 with an honours degree in history and political science and became a schoolteacher. In 1957 he was appointed tutor in politics at the University of Adelaide and in 1967 moved to the University of Western Australia as lecturer in politics until 1977. A Labor party member, Hetherington sought pre-selection for the Senate in 1974 and again in 1975, both times failing to be elected because of his position on the ticket. He then was elected a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

from 1977 to 1989, firstly representing the

East Metropolitan Province The East Metropolitan Province was a two-member electoral province of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in metropolitan Perth. It was created by a redistribution in 1976, and took effect on 22 May 1977 following the 1977 state ...

and then the

South-East Metropolitan Province The South-East Metropolitan Province was a two-member electoral province of the Western Australian Western Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council, located in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia, Perth. It was one of several metropoli ...

. While in parliament he advocated for mental health services and women's refuges for those suffering domestic violence. In 1987 he introduced a private member's bill into the council to legalise homosexuality, which was narrowly defeated. After politics, he continued his support for people with mental illness, becoming first a committee member and later president of the Schizophrenia Fellowship in Western Australia. He also returned to tutoring at the University of Western Australia and

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its n ...

, where he was appointed to its senate. Hetherington died on 30 January 2015 in Perth. He was survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hetherington, Bob 1923 births 2015 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian Army personnel of World War II