John Don (10 September 1918 – 1 April 2013) was an Australian politician. He was born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

to solicitor Joseph Edwin Don and Mary Minnie Cross. He attended various state schools before studying at

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served in the Middle East and later the Philippines, attaining the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and being awarded the MBE. On 9 March 1943, he married Joan Yvonne Davies, with whom he had three daughters. In 1945, Don was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

as the Liberal member for

Elsternwick Elsternwick is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government areas of Victoria ...

, while he was still studying law (he would be admitted as a solicitor in 1954). He was briefly a minister without portfolio in June 1950. A supporter of

Thomas Hollway Thomas Tuke Hollway (2 October 1906 – 30 July 1971) was the 36th Premier of Victoria, and the first to be born in the 20th century. He held office from 1947 to 1950, and again for a short period in 1952. He was originally a member and the lea ...

, he was one of the rebels who voted against the McDonald Country Party government in 1952 and served as

Minister of 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 ...

and Labour in the seventy-hour ministry that resulted. Expelled from the Liberal Party, he was defeated as an

Electoral Reform League The Victorian Liberal Party (VLP), often called the Hollway Liberals, was an independent political party formed on 27 October 1954 from a grouping of supporters of Thomas Hollway, a former leader of the Liberal and Country Party and Premier of Vic ...

candidate in 1955. A solicitor after leaving parliament, he later rejoined the Liberal Party. Don died in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Don, John 1918 births 2013 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Victorian Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Vice-presidents of the Board of Land and Works Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Australian solicitors University of Melbourne alumni Australian Army officers Australian Army personnel of World War II Politicians from Ballarat Ministers for labour (Victoria) Ministers for transport infrastructure (Victoria)