Herbert Claude Barnard (16 October 18906 December 1957) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) and represented the

Division of Bass The Division of Bass is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in Tasmania. It includes most of the city of Launceston, Tasmania, Launceston and its surrounds. It has traditionally been a margin ...

in federal parliament from 1934 to 1949. He served as

Minister for Repatriation The Minister for Veterans' Affairs is an Australian Government position. In the Government of Australia, the minister oversees income support, compensation, care and commemoration programs for more than 400,000 veterans and their widows, widowe ...

in the

Chifley government The Chifley government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1945 to 1949. Background A week after Labor ...

from 1946 to 1949. His son

Lance Barnard Lance Herbert Barnard (1 May 19196 August 1997) was an Australian politician and diplomat who served as the third deputy prime minister of Australia from 1972 to 1974. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1 ...

also entered federal politics and served as

Deputy Prime Minister of Australia The deputy prime minister of Australia is the deputy Chief executive officer, chief executive and the Deputy prime minister, second highest ranking officer of the Australian Government. The office of deputy prime minister was officially creat ...

in the 1970s.

Early life

Barnard was born on 16 October 1890 in Mole Creek, Tasmania. He was the son of Charlotte (née Tipper) and Ernest Walter Barnard; his father was a wheelwright. Barnard attended the state school at

Invermay Invermay () is a diffuse settlement in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is situated approximately 2 km southeast of Forteviot on the Water of May, some 8 km southwest of Perth. Before the mid 15th century, it was known as ''Innermeath ...

, leaving school at the age of fourteen to work in a plant nursery. He joined

Tasmanian Government Railways The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian Nat ...

in 1909, progressing from engine-cleaner to

fireman A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

to engine-driver, based out of Launceston. Barnard served as state secretary of the

Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen The Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees (AFULE) is an Australian trade union representing railway workers. It was formerly a national union which largely merged into the Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union in 1992; however, ...

. He was also president or secretary of the Launceston Trades Hall Council on several occasions.

Federal politics

Barnard stood unsuccessfully at the 1931 election as the

candidate for the seat of

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

. In 1933, he became state secretary of the party and at the 1934 election he won Bass. From 1941 to 1946, he was chairman of the joint parliamentary committee on social security, which developed much of the

Curtin Curtin may refer to: Places *Curtin, Australian Capital Territory * Curtin, Oregon, U.S. *Curtin Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, U.S. *Curtin, Nicholas County, West Virginia, U.S. *Curtin, Webster County, West Virginia, U.S. * RAAF Base Curt ...

and Chifley governments' social policy agenda. In November 1946, he was appointed

in the second Chifley Ministry. Although one of his sons was killed in the war and the other two were injured, he was under constant attack from service organisations and others for not delivering more for war veterans and, like his predecessor, Charles Frost, in 1946, he lost his seat at the 1949 election, in his case, to Liberal candidate Bruce Kekwick. Barnard's son Lance as the ALP candidate would later defeat Kekwick in Bass at the 1954 election.

State politics

In 1950, Barnard was elected to represent the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Tasmanian Legislative Council, Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House, Hobart, Parliament Hou ...

division of Bass The Division of Bass is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in Tasmania. It includes most of the city of Launceston, Tasmania, Launceston and its surrounds. It has traditionally been a margin ...

and held it until his death in 1957.

Personal life

Barnard married Martha McKenzie in 1912, with whom he had four children. His son

was deputy prime minister in the

Whitlam government The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 Australian federal elect ...

, while his nephew

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

and grandson

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

were also members of parliament. Barnard died of cancer on 6 December 1957 at Launceston Public Hospital, aged 67. He was granted a state funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnard, Herbert Claude Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bass Members of the Cabinet of Australia Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Australian trade unionists 1890 births 1957 deaths Australian train drivers Australian MPs 1934–1937 Australian MPs 1937–1940 Australian MPs 1940–1943 Australian MPs 1943–1946 Australian MPs 1946–1949