Douglas Bernard Jennings (30 October 1929 – 9 April 1987) was an Australian politician and businessman. Born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

to Albert Victor Jennings, founder of the property development company A.V. Jennings, he left

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

to join his father's firm in 1947, and worked in several areas of the organisation. In the late 1950s he became mostly involved in the Housing Division in Melbourne, but also encouraged the company to branch out into real estate and furnishings. When Jennings ran into hard times in the early 1960s, Doug Jennings came in for criticism and left the company. After time spent in

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 ...

as the owner operator of the Mount Surprise Cattle station, he returned to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and established a Brahman stud at Moorooduc. While there, he was elected as 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 ...

member for the state seat of Westernport. He was expelled from the party in 1979 for his criticism of the government's handling of a land purchase scandal, and was defeated at the next election. Jennings returned to Queensland where in 1980 he was elected

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

member for the state seat of

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

. An active sportsman in his youth, and always keen on maintaining his physical fitness, he ignored the signs of over-exertion and died of coronary heart disease on 9 April 1987, in the sauna of the gymnasium at

Parliament House, Brisbane Parliament House in Brisbane is the meeting place of the Parliament of Queensland, housing its Unicameralism, only chamber, the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, Legislative Assembly. It is located on the corner of George Street, Brisbane, Ge ...

. Doug Jennings was the nephew of John Jennings,

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

member for the New South Wales federal seat of Watson.

References

Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland 1929 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian businesspeople {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub