Frank Kirwan
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Frank McLeod Kirwan (23 October 1937 – 28 October 1976) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the
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 ...
(ALP) 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 1969 to 1972, 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
Forrest Forrest may refer to: Places Australia *Forrest, Australian Capital Territory *Forrest, Victoria, a small rural township *Division of Forrest, a federal division of the Australian House of Representatives, in Western Australia *Electoral distric ...
. Outside of politics he was an electrical fitter, trade union official and Methodist minister.


Early life

Kirwan was born on 23 October 1937 in
Norseman, Western Australia Norseman is a town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia along the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, east of Perth and above sea level. It is also the starting point of the Eyre Highway, and the last major town in Weste ...
. As a child his family attracted attention when his mother reported a
UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...
sighting. He was educated at state schools and the School of Mines in
Norseman, Western Australia Norseman is a town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia along the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, east of Perth and above sea level. It is also the starting point of the Eyre Highway, and the last major town in Weste ...
, after which he became an electrical fitter with the Dundas Road Board. He was an official with the Electrical Trades Union.


Politics

Kirwan first stood for 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 ...
at the 1966 federal election, opposing the incumbent
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
MP Gordon Freeth. He reprised his candidacy at the 1969 election and unexpectedly defeated Freeth, by then an incumbent cabinet minister in the Gorton government. Freeth's defeat was attributed to remarks he had made as external affairs minister which were seen as not sufficiently
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
, causing the Democratic Labor Party to direct its preferences to Kirwan, and to an economic recession in his electorate. In parliament, Kirwan served as a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1970 to 1972. He had stood on a platform that included opposition to
Australian involvement in the Vietnam War Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began with a small commitment of 30 military advisors in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australian personnel following the Menzies Government's April 1965 decision to ...
and opposition to
conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
. Kirwan was defeated after a single term at the 1972 election, with Peter Drummond reclaiming Forrest for the Liberal Party despite the ALP's overall victory. The seat was a key target for the Liberal Party in Western Australia and was also contested by the Country Party for the first time since 1949 in the person of former state MP David Reid. Kirwan led the count for most of the night, but lost to Drummond after Reid's preferences flowed overwhelmingly to Drummond on the final count. Kirwan unsuccessfully stood for 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 ...
at the 1973 Bunbury state by-election, losing to Liberal candidate John Sibson.


Personal life

Kirwan died on 28 October 1976 in
Wooroloo, Western Australia Wooroloo is a town on the outer fringe of the Perth metropolitan region, located off Great Eastern Highway in the eastern part of the Shire of Mundaring. At the 2021 census, Wooroloo had a population of 2,613. History The name comes from a No ...
, aged 39. Kirwan was a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
minister. In 1969 he was one of only four members of the House of Representatives to make an affirmation rather than swear an oath of office; they were the first ALP MP's to do so since 1929.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirwan, Frank 1937 births 1976 deaths Australian Methodists Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Forrest Members of the Australian House of Representatives People from Norseman, Western Australia Place of death missing Australian MPs 1969–1972