Earl Douglas Cash (15 July 1919 – 15 February 2002) 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 ...

from 1958 to 1961, representing the

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

n seat of

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

. He was defeated after a single term but later served in the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

from 1968 to 1971, representing the seat of Mirrabooka.

Early life

Cash was born on 15 July 1919 in

Gladstone, Manitoba Gladstone is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of WestLake – Gladstone within the Canadian province of Manitoba that held town status prior to January 1, 2015. It is located on the Yellowhead Highway at the intersection ...

, Canada. He was the son of Sarah Cecile Elizabeth () and Walter Gurnet Cash. His father was born in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and moved to Canada as a child, working on the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

and later as a hotel proprietor and storekeeper. His mother was born in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

, England, and immmigrated to Canada as a young woman. Cash spent his early years in

Deloraine, Manitoba Deloraine is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of Deloraine – Winchester within the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba that held List of towns in Manitoba, town status prior to January 1, 2015 ...

. The family moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

in 1922 and immigrated to Australia later that year aboard RMS ''Niagara''. During the 1920s the family lived for periods in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. They eventually settled in Western Australia in 1930, initially in South Fremantle and later in Victoria Park. Cash attended Perth Boys' School from 1931 to 1933 and went on to Perth Technical College. He joined the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

in 1934 and worked for periods in Perth and on the

Eastern Goldfields The Eastern Goldfields is part of the Western Australian Goldfields in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, covering the present and former gold-mining area east of Perth. Extent and name origin The region encompasses the to ...

at Coolgardie,

Norseman The Norsemen (or Northmen) were a cultural group in the Early Middle Ages, originating among speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a large-scale expansion in all directions, giving ris ...

and

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

. He joined the Amalgamated Postal Workers Union in 1937.

Military service

In August 1940, Cash enlisted with the

Citizen Military Forces The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the military reserve force, 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 Citize ...

and was assigned to the 28th Battalion. He transferred to 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 January 1941 and served as a stores and accounts clerk. He spent a year at the

No. 4 Service Flying Training School RAAF No. 4 Service Flying Training School (No. 4 SFTS) was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in February 1941, and commenced flying the following month. Responsible for inte ...

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri language, Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu language, Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldt ...

and then joined No. 14 Squadron RAAF at RAAF Pearce. Cash was promoted to sergeant in June 1942 and to

flight sergeant Flight sergeant (commonly abbreviated to Flt Sgt, F/Sgt, FSGT or, currently correctly in the RAF, FS) is a senior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structur ...

in December 1944. He served on the

New Guinea campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Territory of New Guinea on 23 January and Territory of Papua on ...

in 1945 at

Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. History Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai was probably the first Eur ...

and the

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-cov ...

, before being discharged from the military in April 1946. After the war's end he returned to Perth where he ran a newsagency. He remained in the

RAAF Reserve The Air Force Reserve or RAAF Reserve is the common, collective name given to the reserve units of the Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of ...

until 1955.

Politics

Cash joined the Liberal and Country League of Western Australia in 1950 and was an officeholder in the party's Belmont and Yokine branches. Cash was elected to the

at the 1958 federal election, narrowly defeating the incumbent

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 ...

MP Harry Webb in the seat of

. He lost the seat after a single term, with Webb reclaiming Stirling for the ALP at the 1961 election. He recontested Stirling at the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

and 1966 elections without success. He briefly withdrew from the campaign in 1966 following a conflict with the Liberal state executive over his university studies. He 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 ...

from the

Western Australian Institute of Technology Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, Prime Minister ...

in the same year, having majored in politics. At the

1968 Western Australian state election Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 23 March 1968 to elect all 51 members to the Legislative Assembly and 15 members to the 30-seat Legislative Council. The Liberal-Country coalition government, led by Premier Sir David Bran ...

, Cash was elected to the

seat of Mirrabooka, a new seat. He was again defeated after a single term, losing to ALP candidate Arthur Tonkin at the 1971 state election.

Later activities

Cash worked as a research officer for the Liberal Party from 1971 to 1974. He completed a graduate diploma in library studies through the

Library Association of Australia The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), formerly the Australian Institute of Librarians and Library Association of Australia, is the peak professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector. ...

and moved to Darwin in 1976. He was the special collections librarian at Darwin Community College until 1978 and then worked as librarian for the Northern Territory Department of Law until his retirement in 1982.

Personal life

In 1946, Cash married Margaret Moore (, with whom he had two daughters. He retired to Perth and died at

Joondalup Health Campus Joondalup Health Campus is the largest health care facility in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. The 722-bed hospital has featured combined public and private services since 1996. In March 2013, the new Joondalup Private Hospital ...

on 15 February 2002, aged 82. An avid archivist and conservator of historical items, Doug authored an auto-biography that sadly, he wasn’t able to fully complete before he passed away aged 82. He did however, document a well crafted account of his life from his early childhood up to his early 50’s. His grandson, Peter Quin-Conroy, youngest son of Doug & Joan’s daughter Lynne, has compiled Doug’s work documenting an amazing life living through the 1920’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.. If you are interested in well authored accounts of Western Australian life through the 1900’s, check out this site: ttps://cashfamily.blog Cash Family Blog

References

Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Stirling Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1919 births 2002 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Canadian emigrants to Australia People from Central Plains Region, Manitoba Canadian people of American descent Australian people of American descent Australian people of English descent Australian librarians Curtin University alumni Australian postal officials Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Australian MPs 1958–1961 {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub