John Hugh Ackland (21 August 1890 – 29 July 1958) was an Australian politician, and a member of 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 ...

from 1947 until 1958 representing the seats of Irwin-Moore and

Moore Moore may refer to: Language * Mooré language, spoken in West Africa People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...

Biography

Ackland was born in

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, to John Barnes Ackland, a warehouse manager, and Edith Ackland (née Randell). In 1896, the family moved to

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 ...

, and he was educated at state schools in

East Perth East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

, Claremont and Northam before attending Scotch College. He obtained work as a jackaroo for Thomas Wilding at Mokine in 1906–1908, and from then on farmed at family properties. In 1910, he selected land at Lake Ninan near Wongan Hills, which became productive. During this time he became a member of the town's Board of Health, and on 21 December 1914, he married Elsie Edith Coomer with whom he was to have two sons. With the onset of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Ackland was enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force on 16 August 1916, and served in France as a private with the 28th Battalion, although acted as a Corporal and

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

at various times. He was wounded in battle on 5 June 1918, and was on secondment to the Agent-General for Western Australia's office in London prior to discharge on 25 November 1919. After his war service, Ackland returned to Lake Ninan, and became a Justice of the Peace in 1922 and was elected to the Melbourne Road Board the following year. In 1927, he became its chairman, a position he would hold until 1940. He was also a member of the Royal Agricultural Show Council, was vice-president of the Wheat Section of the Primary Producers Association (associated with the Country Party) and was an early director of Co-operative Bulk Handling. From 1940 to 1945, he served as a captain in the Volunteer Defence Corps. Shortly after his return to civilian life, Ackland contested the seat of Irwin-Moore in the

for the Country Party at the 1947 election, and won against the incumbent Independent member Horace Berry. He retained the seat three years later when it was renamed

. He served on several Select Committees, including one into the agricultural practices of Eric Fairleigh in 1951, and the uniformity of liquid fuel prices in 1956; he also became a member of the Joint House Committee in 1956. He represented the Western Australian branch at the

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights. In 1989 the patron of the CPA was the Head ...

at its general conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in 1982. Ackland died suddenly after giving a speech at Wongan Hills Junior High School on 29 July 1958, and was cremated at Karrakatta Cemetery. He has a memorial inscription at Wongan Hills cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackland, John 1890 births 1958 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People educated at Scotch College, Perth Politicians from Adelaide Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery 20th-century Australian politicians Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army soldiers Volunteer Defence Corps officers