Kenneth Wathen Dunn (17 May 1912 – 30 July 1976) 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 1962 to 1971, representing the seat of Darling Range. Dunn was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

to Georgina Eustace (née Caporn) and Kenneth Wathen Dunn. He attended

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 ...

, and then found work as a clerk. In 1940, Dunn enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, and was posted to the 2/7th Field Regiment. He saw active duty in the Middle East and

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, and was involved in the Landing at Tarakan. After the war, Dunn worked for periods as a

Vacuum Oil Vacuum Oil Company was an American oil company. After being taken over by the original Standard Oil Company and then becoming independent again, in 1931 Vacuum Oil merged with the Standard Oil Company of New York to form Socony-Vacuum, later ren ...

salesman, as a

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-operator in Kalamunda, and as a real estate agent. He was president of the

Kalamunda Shire Council The City of Kalamunda is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council, eastern metropolitan region of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about east of Perth central ...

from 1960 to 1963, and also headed the local branch of the Returned Services League (RSL).Kenneth Wathen Dunn
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 19 September 2016. Dunn entered parliament at the 1962 state election, passing Ray Owen (the sitting Country Party member) by just a single vote on

first preferences A first-preference is a voter's most-preferred candidate. In certain ranked systems such as first preference plurality, ranked-choice voting (RCV), and the single transferable vote, first preferences for a candidate are considered most important ...

. This result was subsequently overturned by the Court of Disputed Returns, and a by-election for the seat was held in July 1962, at which Dunn confirmed his victory and extended the margin between him and Owen to 15 votes. Dunn increased his majority at the 1965 state election, and remained in parliament for another six years before retiring at the 1971 election. He died in Gooseberry Hill in July 1976, aged 64.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Ken 1912 births 1976 deaths Australian Army soldiers Australian Army personnel of World War II Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Perth, Western Australia People educated at Guildford Grammar School Western Australian local councillors