John Hearman
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John Merrifield Hearman CMG (10 November 1910 – 20 February 1994) was an Australian politician who was a
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 ...
member of the Legislative Assembly of
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 ...
from 1950 to 1968, representing the seat of Blackwood. He served as
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and terr ...
from 1959 to 1968, with only Sir James Lee-Steere having served in the position longer.


Early life

Hearman was born in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, England, to Minnie (née Merrifield) and Walter Edgar Hearman. His family moved to Western Australia when he was three years old, settling in Donnybrook. His older sister, Joan Tully, became a prominent agricultural scientist. Attending
Guildford Grammar School Guildford Grammar School, informally known as Guildford Grammar, Guildford or GGS, is an Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Mixed-sex education, coeducational Primary school, primary and Secondary school, se ...
, Hearman was a talented rower in his youth and represented Western Australia at the 1930
King's Cup King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King's Cup (Bahrain), the premier national knockout football tournament * King's ...
(the Australian national championships).John Merifield Hearman
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
In 1939, Hearman enlisted in the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
, where he was initially attached to the 2/16th Battalion as a platoon commander and machine gunner. Hearman saw service in the Middle East,
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
,
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
, and the
Celebes Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Archi ...
, and was
mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...
during the Kokoda Campaign. He reach 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 ...
by the war's end and was briefly attached to the
British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...
in 1946, as an officer in the 80th Infantry Brigade. Hearman was discharged in March 1946, and returned to his dairy farm.


Politics and later life

A member of the Liberal Party from 1946, Hearman was elected to parliament at the 1950 state election, for the new seat of Blackwood. He was appointed deputy chairman of committees in 1957, and after the Liberals' victory at the 1959 election was elected to the speakership. Hearman was re-elected in Blackwood with a large majority in 1962, and unopposed in 1965. He remained speaker until the 1968 election, when he was unexpectedly defeated in his own seat (despite the return of the Liberal government for a third term). Ron Kitney of the Country Party was his only opponent, and polled 54.6 percent of the vote. Hearman was the first sitting speaker since
Timothy Quinlan Timothy Francis Quinlan (18 February 1861 – 8 July 1927) was an Irish-born Australian politician who represented the electorates of West Perth and Toodyay in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between 1890 and 1894, and 1897 and ...
in 1911 to be defeated at a general election. He served as speaker for just under nine years, with only Sir James Lee-Steere having served in the position longer.Speakers of the Legislative Assembly
– Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
Hearman returned to his farm after leaving politics, and died in Donnybrook in February 1994, aged 83. He had married Millicent Jean Hardie in 1943, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.


See also

*
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Following are lists of members 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 s ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hearman, John 1910 births 1994 deaths Australian Army officers Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian male rowers English emigrants to Australia Indian Army personnel of World War II Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Speakers of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People educated at Guildford Grammar School Politicians from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian sportsmen