Harold Arthur Charles Daffen (8 September 1899 – 15 August 1984) was an Australian politician. He was a

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

from 1947 to 1950, representing Central Province. Daffen was born in Brunswick,

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 ...

, the son of Arthur Daffen, a school teacher who had recently emigrated from England; his family moved to

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 ...

in 1900 and

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 ...

in 1902. He was educated at St Joachim's Convent School in Victoria Park and St Patrick's Boys School, but left school early to work on his family's farm at Kukerin and later for D. & J. Fowler Ltd. He enlisted for military service on 6 October 1917, and was an orderly in the dental corps of the

Royal Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian colon ...

and attended non-commissioned officer training before embarking overseas on 29 October 1918; however, with the end of the war on 11 November he was reported as returning home in December. He was discharged on 17 January 1919, re-enlisted with the Home Service Corps the next day, and worked in the military headquarters in Perth until 1920, having made

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in June 1919. Daffen returned to Kukerin in 1920 under the repatriation scheme and began farming wheat and sheep in partnership with his brother; he served as president of the Kukerin branch of the Wheatgrowers' Union during this time. He withdrew from the partnership in 1932, returned to Perth and worked as a branch manager for Bruce Small Pty Ltd. Daffen then moved to

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri language, Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu language, Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldt ...

in 1936, where he worked for Young Motors Limited as manager of their radio and sports department until his election to parliament. He was a councillor of the Municipality of Geraldton from 1943 to 1947, captain of the Utakarra Golf Club at Geraldton from 1936 to 1940, trustee and honorary secretary of the Geraldton Sailors and Soldiers Memorial Institute from 1942 to 1950 and deputy controller of air raid precautions at Geraldton during World War II. He was an unsuccessful Liberal candidate for the Legislative Assembly at the 1947 state election. Daffen was elected to the Legislative Council at a by-election on 30 August 1947 caused by the death of John Drew. He was a member of the Joint Select Committee on the Bush Fires Act Amendment Bill in 1948. He ran for re-election in 1950 (his seat having been renamed Midland Province) on a platform including new water supply schemes and attempts to combat soil erosion and

soil salinity Soil salinity is the salt (chemistry), salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization (also called salination in American and British English spelling differences, American English). Salts occur nat ...

, but was defeated by Country Party candidate Ray Jones. Daffen had won majorities in the

and Greenough areas, but was narrowly beaten due to his opponent's victory margins in more rural areas. Daffen moved back to Perth in June 1950 following his defeat; he later operated a store in North Perth and worked for a succession of companies. He was also a member of the Bayswater Road Board from 1955 to 1958. He died in 1984 at a

Mount Lawley Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

nursing home and was buried at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

. He married Evelyn Janet Sibbella Hooton on 18 April 1936; they had three sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daffen, Harold 1899 births 1984 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Politicians from Perth, Western Australia