Desmond John Frawley (23 September 1924 – 23 May 1996) was a

company owner A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific ...

and member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

Early days

Frawley was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, to parents Stanley John Frawley and his wife Alice Mary (née Campbell). He attended Virginia State School, St Columban's College, and

Brisbane Grammar School Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) is an Independent school, independent, fee charging, non-denominational, day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, Queensland, Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Austra ...

. Soon after leaving school he joined the

RAAF The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal 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-general of Aus ...

where he served from 1942 to 1946. On his discharge he trained as an electrical mechanic under the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Scheme with the Public Works Department, Brisbane, for a period of three years. He then worked as a lift mechanic for 20 years with the

Otis Elevator Company Otis Worldwide Corporation (trade name, branded as the Otis Elevator Company, its former legal name) styled as OTIS is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets elevators, escalators, moving walkways, and related equipment. ...

in Brisbane. Finally, he went into business and owned Frawley Motors for 20 years.

Political career

Frawley, representing the Country Party (1972–74) (which became the National Party in 1974), won the seat of Murrumba in 1972. He held the seat until 1977 and then moved to the neighbouring seat of

Caboolture Caboolture () is a town and suburb in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. It is located on the northern side of the Caboolture River. In the , the suburb of Caboolture had a population of 29,534 people. Geography Caboolture is ...

which he held from 1977 to 1983. He had previously been an alderman in the Redcliffe City Council from 1967 until 1972.

Personal life

In 1944, Frawley married Laurell Irene Orford and together had three sons. He was a life member of the Queensland Amateur Athletics Association, and member of the Redcliffe Trotting Club. He was patron of the Queensland Veterans Athletics Association and was Queensland decathlon champion 1949–52 and Queensland pentathlon champion 1951–52. In 1937, while a student at Virginia State School he won the coveted Norman Grehan Trophy for athletics. He died in 1996 and was buried in Redcliffe Cemetery.Moreton Bay Region Cemeteries Database
—

Moreton Bay Region The City of Moreton Bay, known until July 2023 as the Moreton Bay Region, is a local government area in the north of the Brisbane metropolitan city in South East Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it replaced three established local g ...

. Retrieved 21 February 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frawley, Des Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1924 births 1996 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians People educated at Brisbane Grammar School