Charles Downey Hardy (12 December 1898 – 27 August 1941) was an Australian politician who served as a
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
for
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 ...
from 1932 to 1938, representing the
Country Party. He was the founder of the
Riverina Movement, which advocated for the separation of his native
Riverina
The Riverina ()
is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...
region from the state of
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 ...
.
Early life
Born in
Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...
, he was educated at
Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay.
Establ ...
before serving in the military 1917–1919. He returned to become a manufacturer of building supplies, and was a leader of the
Riverina new state movement.
Active in local politics since the 1920s, Hardy founded the Riverina Movement with the support of
Robert Hankinson and other Riverina business leaders. Hardy was highly critical of the Labor state government of
Jack Lang, and, promoted by
Clyde Packer
Robert Clyde Packer (22 July 19358 April 2001), usually known as Clyde Packer, was the son of Australian newspaper magnate Frank Packer and the elder brother of media baron Kerry Packer. From 23 April 1964 to 22 April 1976, he was a member of t ...
's press empire, Hardy travelled the state in an aeroplane making what were described as 'demagogic' speeches. Hardy openly declared himself a fascist, and in Packer's media was described as a '
Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...
of the Riverina' and likened, favourably, to
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
. Such was Hardy's appeal to country voters that he was investigated by the
Commonwealth Police
The Commonwealth Police (COMPOL) was the federal law enforcement agency in Australia between 1917 and 1979. A federal police force was first established in 1917, and operated under different names and in some periods as multiple organisations. I ...
. Allegations later surfaced that Hardy may have been attempting to organise a paramilitary movement along the lines of the
New Guard
The New Guard was an Australian fascist paramilitary organisation during the Great Depression. It was the largest and most successful fascist organisation in Australian history.
The New Guard, known for its violent agitation against NSW Prem ...
, possibly preparing for a coup against the state government.
Senate
In 1931, he was elected to the
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives.
The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...
for New South Wales as a member of the
Country Party, taking his seat in 1932.
He did not regularly attend the Senate chamber and described it as "simply an echo of city interests that have more than their fair share of representation".
In October 1935, Hardy was elected as the Country Party's Senate leader. His elevation to the position was opposed by Western Australian senators
William Carroll and
Bertie Johnston
Edward Bertram Johnston (11 January 1880 – 6 September 1942), known as Bertie Johnston, was the Western Australian Legislative Assembly member for Williams-Narrogin from 1911 to 1928, and a Senator from 1929 until 1942. His resignation fro ...
; Carroll had previously served as the party's ''de facto'' leader. Johnston contested the leadership ballot against Hardy, but was unsuccessful and subsequently left the party to sit as an independent. Hardy failed to win re-election at the
1937 election, with his term concluding on 30 June 1938.
[
]
Later life
Having left politics, he became a co-ordinator of works 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 ...
(RAAF).
In May 1941, Hardy was appointed as a business liaison officer to the Department of Air
The Department of Air is a former Australian federal government department. Created on 13 November 1939 following the outbreak of the Second World War, it assumed control of the administration and finance of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF ...
, working in an honorary capacity and supervising construction expenditure. Two weeks before his death, he was seconded to the Department of Defence Co-ordination
The Department of Defence Co-ordination was an Australian government department that existed between November 1939 and April 1942.
History
The department was formed shortly after Australia declared war on Germany in September 19 ...
.
Death
Hardy and two others were killed when an Airlines of Australia
Airlines of Australia was an airline that serviced Australia, originally commencing as New England Airlines in 1931, until being absorbed by Australian National Airways in July 1942.
New England Airways
Airlines of Australia was originally incor ...
charter flight crashed in Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...
on 27 August 1941. The other victims were the pilot Frank Cohen and Lieutenant-Colonel Ramsay Miller, a director of works with the Australian Army. Hardy and Miller were returning from a trip to Thursday Island
Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately ...
in the Torres Strait
The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...
. Their de Havilland Puss Moth
The de Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth is a British three-seater high-wing monoplane aeroplane designed and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company between 1929 and 1933. It flew at a speed approaching 124 mph (200 km/h), making it ...
was en route to Cairns
Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people.
The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...
when it crashed into a bank of the Coen River
The Coen River is a river in the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia.
The headwaters of the river rise at the confluence of Pandanus Creek and an unnamed creek near Bend along the Peninsula Developmental Road in the Great Dividing R ...
outside of the township of Coen. Eyewitnesses reported the plane veering out of control before bursting into flames in mid-air. Hardy's body was recovered some distance from the wreckage.
Hardy's body was brought to Sydney and cremated at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium
The Northern Suburbs Crematorium, officially Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, is a crematorium in North Ryde, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It was officially opened on 28 October 1933, and the first cremation t ...
. A memorial service was held on 31 August at St Alban's Church, Lindfield, with Prime Minister Arthur Fadden
Sir Arthur William Fadden (13 April 189421 April 1973) was an Australian politician and accountant who served as the 13th prime minister of Australia from 29 August to 7 October 1941. He held office as the leader of the Country Party from 1940 ...
in attendance.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Charles
1898 births
1941 deaths
Accidental deaths in Queensland
Australian fascists
Australian military personnel killed in World War II
National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales
Members of the Australian Senate
20th-century Australian politicians
People educated at Geelong Grammar School
People from Wagga Wagga
Politicians killed in World War II
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1941
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Australia
Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II