Gordon Sinclair Davidson (17 January 1915 – 25 November 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 as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. He was twice appointed to

casual vacancies ''The Casual Vacancy'' is a novel written by British author J. K. Rowling, published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. It was Rowling's first publication since the ''Harry Potter'' series, her first novel apart fr ...

(1961 and 1962) and later won election in his own right, serving 16 years (1965–1981). He was a grazier and church administrator before entering politics.

Early life

Davidson's family were farmers at Angas Plains in the Strathalbyn area of

. He was educated in the small Angas Plains School, then as a boarder at Scotch College in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. He worked on the family farm and was elected to the

District Council of Strathalbyn The District Council of Strathalbyn was a local government area in South Australia centred on the town of Strathalbyn from 1854 until 1997. From 1868 the township itself was locally governed by the Corporation of Strathalbyn but that entity was ...

, serving there from 1942 to 1950. He was also an elder and lay preacher at the Strathalbyn Presbyterian Church and joined the

Liberal and Country League The South Australian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division), and often shortened to SA Liberals, is the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. It was formed as the Lib ...

around 1940. He was initiated into the Freemasons in March 1941. Davidson travelled overseas to the UK, USA and Canada for almost two years from 1950. He returned in 1952 and married Patricia Emma (Pat) Newman at the Glenelg Methodist Church. They lived in Glenelg for almost 50 years. He hosted a radio program called ''Presbyterian Corner'' from 1955 to 1969.

Senate

In 1961, Davidson was appointed to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

as a

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 ...

Senator for South Australia, filling the casual vacancy caused by the death of

Rex Pearson Rex Whiting Pearson (13 January 1905 – 11 September 1961) was an Australian politician. Born in Kadina, South Australia, he was educated in Adelaide at Prince Alfred College before becoming a farmer and grazier, initially at Sandilands on ...

. He did not contest the casual vacancy in the 1961 election, and his term ended later in 1961. Senator

Nancy Buttfield Dame Nancy Eileen Buttfield, ( Holden; 12 November 1912 – 4 September 2005) was an Australian Senator and the first woman to serve in the Australian Parliament as a representative of the state of South Australia. Early life Buttfield was ...

resigned her own seat on 8 December 1961 and won the casual vacancy previously held by Davidson, for the remainder of Pearson's term, which was due to expire in June 1965. In February 1962, he was re-appointed to the Senate to take on Buttfield's vacancy until the term expired in 1962. He was elected in his own right in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, and served from 1965 until his retirement on 30 June 1981. In the Senate, Davidson had an interest in water management and served on several committees and delegations in this area, including chair of the Senate Select Committee on Water Pollution. He also served as chairman of the Education, Science and the Arts Committee and examined the need for a multicultural and multilingual broadcasting service. Davidson served as president of the South Australian

Royal Flying Doctor Service The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an aeromedical retrieval service in Australia and the largest of its kind in the world. It is a non-profit organisation that provides urgent and emergency medica ...

from 1965 to 1967.

Later life

Davidson was appointed a

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 ...

(CBE) in January 1981 for service to the Parliament.

References

1915 births 2002 deaths Australian Presbyterians Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub