Francis Edward Old (24 November 1875 – 19 May 1950) was an Australian politician. He was born in

Dingee Dingee is a town in northern Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of Loddon, north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Dingee and the surrounding area had a population of 195. Dingee Post Office opened on 12 December 188 ...

to farmer Thomas Spear Old and Charlotte Mitchell. He attended state schools at Dingee, and from 1892 was a farmer at

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a List of cities in Australia, city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River, Victoria, Loddon River. At the , ...

. On 27 September 1903, he married Marion Richardson, with whom he had five children. From 1907 to 1919 he was based in

Wakool Wakool is a town in the western Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. Wakool is in the Murray River Council local government area, south west of the state capital, Sydney and north-west of Melbourne. At the , Wakool had a population o ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, but from 1919 he returned to Swan Hill while retaining the New South Wales property. He had been involved with the

Farmers' and Settlers' Association The National Party of Australia, commonly known as the Nationals or simply the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia. Traditionally represe ...

in New South Wales and served on Wakool Shire Council from 1912 to 1913. In 1919 he won a by-election for the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

seat of

, representing the

Victorian Farmers' Union The Victorian Farmers' Union (VFU) was an association of farmers and primary producers formed in 1914 in the Australian state of Victoria. Although initially formed as an "absolutely non-political" entity, the VFU became a political party in 19 ...

. He joined the Country Party on its formation and was Minister of Agriculture and Railways from 1923 to 1924 and Minister of

Water Supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

and Electrical Undertakings from 1935 to 1943; he was also Acting Premier from 1936 to 1937. He was the Country Party's deputy leader twice, first from 1922 to 1924 and secondly from 1936 to 1937. Old was defeated in 1945 and died at Swan Hill in 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old, Francis 1875 births 1950 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Vice-presidents of the Board of Land and Works Ministers for agriculture (Victoria) Ministers of railways (Victoria) Ministers for water (Victoria)