Sir Gordon William Wesley Chalk, Gordon William (Chalkie) (1913–1991)
—

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

. Retrieved 14 January 2015. (16 May 191326 April 1991) was

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

for a week, from 1 to 8 August 1968. He was the first and only Queensland Premier from the post-war Liberal Party.

Early years

The only child of Queensland-born parents Samuel Chalk, butcher, and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth ( Wesley), "Chalkie", as he was nicknamed, was baptised in the Church of Christ (but as an adult gave his religion as Methodist). He attended Rosewood State, Marburg Rural, and Lockyer State High Schools.

Career

Chalk entered politics in 1947 having previously worked as a sales manager at the Toowoomba Foundry.New Transport Minister for Queensland ''

Truck & Bus Transportation ''Truck & Bus Transportation'' was a Sydney-based monthly trade magazine covering aspects of transport in Australia. Overview ''Truck & Bus Transportation'' was established in July 1936 by Frank Shennen as ''Transportation''. It was renamed '' ...

'', October 1957, pg. 66. In January 1965, he defeated Alex Dewar 11 votes to 9 to be elected as Deputy Liberal Leader, after Alan Munro resigned as leader and Deputy Premier. On 23 December 1965, Chalk succeeded the retiring Sir Thomas Hiley as Leader of the Queensland Liberal Party, Deputy Premier and Treasurer in a coalition government with the Country Party led by

Frank Nicklin Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin, (6 August 1895 – 29 January 1978) was an Australian politician. He was the Premier of Queensland from 1957 to 1968, the first non- Labor Party premier since 1932. Early life and career Nicklin was born in M ...

. He did so by defeating Dewar a second time, 12 votes to 8. He continued in these roles when

Jack Pizzey Jack Charles Allan Pizzey (2 February 1911 – 31 July 1968) was a Queensland Country Party politician. He was Premier of Queensland, in a coalition with the Liberal Party, from 17 January 1968 until his death on 31 July that year. To date, h ...

succeeded Nicklin as Premier on 17 January 1968. Following the sudden death of Pizzey on 31 July 1968, the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Sir Alan Mansfield swore in Chalk as Premier on 1 August, pending the Country Party electing a new leader. They chose

Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...

, who succeeded Chalk after a week in office. Chalk continued as Treasurer and Leader of the Liberal Party until his resignation from parliament in 1976.

Political positions

Seats held

* 1947–1950

East Toowoomba East Toowoomba is a residential Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in Toowoomba in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , East Toowoomba had a population of 5,953 people. Geography East Toowoomba is by road from the T ...

for the

Queensland People's Party The Queensland Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (Queensland Division), was the Queensland division of the Liberal Party of Australia until 2008. It was initially formed in October 1943 as the Queensland People ...

and 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 ...

* 1950–1976 Lockyer for the

(resigned)

Ministerial positions

Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

12 August 1957 – 23 December 1965 *

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

23 December 1965 – 13 August 1976 *

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

1 August 1968 – 8 August 1968

Honours

In the Queen's Birthday Honours of June 1971, he was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE).It's an Honour – KBE
/ref>

Personal life

Upon his death in 1991 Chalk was accorded 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 ...

which was held at

Albert Street Uniting Church Albert Street Uniting Church is a heritage-listed Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting church (building), church at 319 Albert Street, Brisbane, Albert Street (on the corner of Ann Street, Brisbane, Ann Street), Brisbane City, Queensland, Bris ...

and he was later cremated.

References

Notes Citations 1913 births 1991 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland Premiers of Queensland Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Queensland People's Party politicians Deputy premiers of Queensland Treasurers of Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub