James Donald Mathieson Dobie (28 July 1927 – 25 November 1996) was an Australian politician. He was a member of 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 ...

and served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

for over 25 years, representing the seats of Hughes (1966–1969) and

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

(1969–1972, 1975–1996). He was an assistant minister during the

McMahon government The McMahon government was the period of federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister William McMahon of the Liberal Party. It was made up of members of a coalition between the Liberal Party and the Country Party, led by ...

(1971–1972). Prior to entering politics he worked for the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia. It was established in 1817 in Sydney. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania ...

Early life

Dobie was born on 28 July 1927 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland. He was the only child of Annie Burns (née Mathieson) and Alexander Dobie. The family moved to Australia the following year, arriving in Brisbane in February 1928. They settled in the suburb of

Newstead, Queensland Newstead is an inner northern riverside suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Newstead had a population of 7,496 people. Geography Newstead is north-east of Brisbane central business district, bounded by Breakfast Creek to the ...

, and his father found work as a fitter and engineer. Dobie was educated at Ascot State School 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 ...

. He left school in 1943 and joined the

, working in branches around Queensland. He was called up for

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

with the

Citizens Military Force The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...

in 1951 and served as a gunner with the 2nd Light Artillery Regiment. In 1953, Dobie was transferred to Melbourne where he worked in the bank's economics section. He was able to study part-time at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

and graduated

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1961. He subsequently spent a year in the United States obtaining a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. After returning to Australia he was transferred to Sydney and became manager of the bank's Sylvania branch.

Politics

Dobie was president of the Liberal Party's

Woolooware Woolooware is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woolooware is located south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire. It shares the 2230 postcode with Cronulla. Woolooware stretch ...

branch from 1964 to 1966. He was first elected to the party's state council in New South Wales in 1965 and also served terms on the state executive and as a delegate to federal council. At the 1966 federal election, Dobie was elected to 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. ...

for the

, defeating

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 Les Johnson for the seat of Hughes. A redistribution ahead of the 1969 election carved the new seat of

mostly out of the more Liberal-friendly eastern portion of Hughes. The redistribution erased Dobie's majority in Hughes and gave Labor a notional eight-percent majority, turning it from a marginal Liberal seat into a fairly safe Labor seat on paper. Believing this made Hughes unwinnable—especially with Johnson priming for a rematch—Dobie transferred to Cook. This move proved prescient, as Johnson retook Hughes for Labor on a large swing while Dobie narrowly won Cook. On 20 August 1971, he was appointed Assistant Minister assisting the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988), also known as Billy McMahon, was an Australian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia ...

. In 1972, he was defeated by Labor's Ray Thorburn, but retook the seat in 1975 and was returned at every election until his retirement in 1996. He died later the same year. Dobie was the Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Representatives from 1983 to 1985. In 1993 he was the Coalition candidate for Speaker of the House of Representatives but the nomination was of a symbolic nature as the Coalition had just lost an election earlier that year and Dobie was defeated on party lines by the Labor Government's candidate Stephen Martin by a vote of 78 to 63.

Personal life

Dobie was in a long-term relationship with physician George Burniston. The pair met in the 1950s and initially lived in Dobie's

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...

flat, before moving to Sydney and settling in Burniston's

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central ...

apartment. Burniston died in 1992, with Dobie acknowledged in his obituary as a "life long friend and close companion". His parliamentary colleague

Chris Puplick Christopher John Guelph Puplick ( ; born 13 May 1948) is a former Australian politician. He was a Senator for New South Wales from 1978 to 1981 and from 1984 to 1990, representing the Liberal Party. Early life Puplick was born on 13 May 1948 i ...

later acknowledged the "deep personal friendship" between the pair in a eulogy for Dobie. He was occasionally subjected to homophobic remarks in parliament, and it has been suggested that his homosexuality may have inhibited his chances of a ministerial appointment. Dobie died on 25 November 1996 at the age of 69, less than a year after leaving parliament. His death was caused by a heart attack resulting from complications of diabetes. He was granted a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

at Cronulla Presbyterian Community Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobie, Don LGBTQ conservatism LGBTQ legislators in Australia Australian gay politicians Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Cook Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Hughes Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1927 births 1996 deaths Deaths from diabetes in Australia People educated at Brisbane Grammar School University of Melbourne alumni Australian MPs 1966–1969 Australian MPs 1969–1972 Australian MPs 1975–1977 Australian MPs 1977–1980 Australian MPs 1980–1983 Australian MPs 1983–1984 Australian MPs 1984–1987 Australian MPs 1987–1990 Australian MPs 1990–1993 Australian MPs 1993–1996