John Ingles Richardson (born 15 March 1938) is a former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n politician. He was the

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 ...

member for Forest Hill in 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 ...

from 1976 to 2002. Richardson was born in

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

to shopkeeper William Richardson and his wife Ethelwyn Ingles Smith. He attended public schools in

Kerang Kerang is a town on the Loddon River in north-central Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture, cytisus proliferus, lucerne and grain. It is located no ...

before attending

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

Grammar School and finally

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

Teachers' College, from which he graduated as a primary teacher in 1957. He became a schoolteacher in Braybrook Primary School and a lecturer at Footscray Technical College; finally, in 1963, he received a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (BCom or B Com) is an undergraduate degree in commerce, accounting, mathematics, economics, and management-related subjects. The degree is mainly offered in Commonwealth nations. Structure Bachelor of Commerce The Bac ...

from

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 ...

. On 11 May 1963, he married Alice Mary Salmon, with whom he had two children. In 1967, he became the manager of James Bennett Booksellers and Publishers; he was also a script-writer for the children's shows ''Magic Circle Club'' and ''Adventure Island'', as well as the author of five children's books. In 1976, Richardson was elected to the

Victorian Parliament The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly ...

for Forest Hill as 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 ...

. In 1982 he became Shadow Minister for Educational Services, but later that year was moved to Consumer Affairs, with the additional portfolio of Assistant to the Leader of the Opposition. In 1983, he moved to Ethnic Affairs, but left the front bench in 1985. In 1989 he returned as Shadow Minister for Education, moving to Community Services, Housing and Aboriginal Affairs in 1990. He left the front bench again in 1991. Richardson remained a backbencher until his retirement in 2002.

Publications

Richardson published five children's books: *''Wilfred the Wombat'' *''Gendarme the Police Horse'' *''Gendarme at Work'' *''Suey the Sheep Dog'' *''Ace the Guard Dog''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, John 1938 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly People from Shepparton 21st-century Australian politicians People educated at Ivanhoe Grammar School