Leonard William Hamilton (7 July 1899 – 31 May 1987) was an Australian politician. Born in

Jarrahdale, Western Australia Jarrahdale is a small historic town located 45 km south-east of Perth, Western Australia in the Darling Scarp, Darling Range. The name is derived from its situation in a Eucalyptus marginata, jarrah forest. Established in the late 1800s as t ...

, he was educated at Perth Boys School before becoming a wheat and sugar farmer. He served in the military from 1917 to 1920 and from 1940 to 1945. In 1946, he was elected to the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

as the Country Party member for

Swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

, defeating

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 ...

MP Don Mountjoy. In 1949, he transferred to the new seat of

Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...

, where he remained until his retirement in 1961. Hamilton later served as President of the

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 ...

n branch of the Country Party. He died in 1987.

Early life

Hamilton was born on 7 July 1899 in

. He was educated at Perth Boys' School and passed his junior certificate, but left school at a young age to work as a clerk, initially with a private business and later with the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

. He began an apprenticeship as a fitter at the

Midland Railway Workshops The Midland Railway Workshops in Midland, Western Australia, were the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years, (1904-1994). History The first railway workshops in Western Australia were located at ...

in 1915. In July 1917, Hamilton enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). He served as a

sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...

with the 9th Field Company of the

Australian Engineers Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

, leaving Australia in March 1918 and returning in July 1919. He attained the rank of

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

. After returning from the war he completed his apprenticeship and work as an engineer until 1927. Hamilton subsequently settled in Beacon, Western Australia, where he established a wheat and sheep farm. He served on the Mount Marshall Road Board, including as vice-chairman for three years and chairman for one year. He was also a founding member of the Wheatgrowers' Union and held various offices in the union. In May 1940, Hamilton enlisted in the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

(RAAF) as an ordinary

aircraftman Aircraftman (AC) or aircraftwoman (ACW) was formerly the lowest rank in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and is still in use by the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries. In RAF slang, aircraftmen were sometimes called "erks". Air ...

. He trained as an instructor at the

No. 1 Flying Training School RAAF No. 1 Flying Training School (No. 1 FTS) is a school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is one of the Air Force's original units, dating back to the service's formation in 1921, when it was established at RAAF Point Cook, Vic ...

in Victoria and was subsequently stationed in

Victor Harbor, South Australia Victor Harbor is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located within the City of Victor Harbor on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, about south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. The town is the larges ...

, and

Geraldton, Western Australia Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldton had an urban population of 38,595. Geraldton is the seat of ...

. In 1942 he was transferred to the No. 5 Aircraft Depot RAAF in

Wagga Wagga, New South Wales Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

. He later spent time with

No. 23 Squadron RAAF No. 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is a non-flying base operations and training squadron headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley near Brisbane, Queensland. The squadron was formed in 1937 and saw action agai ...

and with No. 82 Wing RAAF at

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...

in the Dutch East Indies. He was discharged from the RAAF in November 1945 with the rank of

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

Politics

Hamilton first ran for parliament at the

1939 Western Australian state election Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 18 March 1939 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The Labor Party, led by Premier John Willcock, won a third term in office against the Country and Nationalist parties, l ...

, standing unsuccessfully as an independent in the Legislative Assembly seat of Mount Marshall. Later in 1939, fellow independent Claude Barker resigned from the Legislative Assembly and endorsed Hamilton as his successor in the neighbouring seat of Irwin-Moore. However, Hamilton declined to stand at the by-election. Hamilton was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

at the 1946 federal election, winning the seat of

for the Country Party from the incumbent

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

MP Don Mountjoy. Following a redistribution, he transferred to the new seat of

at the 1949 election. In 1956, Hamilton was appointed a parliamentary secretary in the Menzies government. He was attached to the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

and Department of Works from 1956 to 1958 and the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

from 1959 to 1961. He also served on the Joint Standing Committee on Constitutional Review from 1956 to 1960.

Personal life

In 1921, Hamilton married Adelaide Hammond, with whom he had four children. He was granted a divorce in 1947 on the grounds of spousal abandonment. Hamilton died on 31 May 1987, aged 87.

References

1899 births 1987 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Swan Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Canning Members of the Australian House of Representatives People from Peel (Western Australia) Australian military personnel of World War I Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Australian engineers Farmers from Western Australia Australian MPs 1946–1949 Australian MPs 1949–1951 Australian MPs 1951–1954 Australian MPs 1954–1955 Australian MPs 1955–1958 Australian MPs 1958–1961 {{Australia-National-politician-stub