John Norman Lawson (24 March 1897 – 14 August 1956) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

(UAP) and served in federal parliament from 1931 to 1940, representing the

Division of Macquarie The Division of Macquarie ( ) is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 65 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for Lachlan Ma ...

in New South Wales. He was Minister for Trade and Customs in the first Menzies Government from 1939 to 1940.

Early life

Lawson was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 24 March 1897. He was the son of Eleanor (née Day) and James Lawson; his father was a carrier. Lawson attended

Sydney Boys' High School Sydney Boys High School ('SBHS'), otherwise known as Sydney High School ('SHS') or simply High, is an Australian government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Moore Park, New South Wales, a sub ...

, subsequently graduating

Bachelor of Veterinary Science The Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc or BVSC; Latin Baccalaureus Veterinariae Scientiae), "Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine" (BVetMed), or "Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery" ("BVM&S" or "BVMS") is a degree for studies in veterinary me ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in 1920. He worked as a veterinarian in New Zealand until 1926, when he returned to Australia and acquired Kidgery, a small

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

near

Nyngan, New South Wales Nyngan () is a town in the centre of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bogan Shire Local government in Australia, local government area within the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of central New South Wales. At the 2016 Australian census, 2 ...

Politics

In 1930, Lawson unsuccessfully stood as a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

candidate for the seat of

Cobar Cobar is a town in Outback New South Wales, Australia, whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier Highwa ...

in an attempt to enter the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

. He was later endorsed by the

to contest the federal seat of Macquarie, held by

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician and train driver who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), and was n ...

, the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Minister for Defence Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

. In a surprising result, Lawson defeated Chifley by 456 votes, having been helped by the split of the Labor vote between Chifley and the

Lang Labor Lang Labor was a faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) consisting of the supporters of Jack Lang, who served two terms as Premier of New South Wales and was the party's state leader from 1923 to 1939. It controlled the New South Wale ...

candidate,

Tony Luchetti Anthony Sylvester Luchetti, Order of Australia, AM (27 May 1904 – 11 July 1984) was a long serving Australian Australian House of Representatives, federal member of parliament. Born of Italy, Italian/Irish parentage in Lowther, New South Wal ...

. Lawson was a vocal supporter of the proposal to establish a shale-oil undertaking at

Newnes Newnes (), an abandoned oil shale mining site of the Wolgan Valley, is located in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The site that was operational in the early 20th century is now partly surrounded by Wollemi Nation ...

, near Lithgow, and in 1934 he increased his margin in Macquarie substantially. He was part of the delegation to the coronation of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

, and was assistant to the treasurer Richard Casey and then the minister for industry

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

. When Menzies resigned in protest at Prime Minister

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Australia, from 1932 until his death in 1939. He held office as the inaugural leader of the United Australia Par ...

' refusal to proceed with a scheme for national insurance, the loyal Lawson resigned his portfolios too. Upon Lyons' death in 1939, Menzies, as the new Prime Minister, was able to reward Lawson's devotion by appointing him minister for trade and customs. Lawson was an important part of the

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 ...

effort in Australia, and was appointed to the Economic Cabinet in 1939. He also attracted criticism from the Country Party, which had withdrawn from its alliance with the UAP, for negotiating a deal which gave Australian Consolidated Industries Ltd a virtual monopoly over the Australian motorcar industry. He embarrassed the ministry when it was revealed that he had leased a racehorse, and was reprimanded, but not sacked, by Menzies. Lawson, convinced that he had jeopardised the government, resigned anyway, on 23 February 1940. At the 1940 federal elections, he lost his seat to Chifley.

Personal life

In 1925, Lawson married Jessie Orchard, the daughter of businessman and federal MP

Richard Orchard Richard Beaumont Orchard CBE (14 October 1871 – 24 July 1942) was an Australian businessman and politician. He was a successful watchmaker and jeweller, with premises on George Street, Sydney. He served in the House of Representatives from 191 ...

. The couple had three children. After leaving politics, Lawson managed Arrowfield, a

stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...

farm at

Jerrys Plains, New South Wales Jerrys Plains is a village in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia about 33 kilometres west of Singleton on the Golden Highway. The surrounding countryside is home to some substantial horse-breeding properties, notably the Australian ...

. He died of a heart attack on 14 August 1956, aged 59.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, John United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Macquarie Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1897 births 1956 deaths Politicians from Sydney Australian veterinarians University of Sydney alumni People educated at Sydney Boys High School Australian MPs 1931–1934 Australian MPs 1934–1937 Australian MPs 1937–1940