Leslie Frank Louis "Les" Diplock CMG (16 September 1899 – 6 November 1983) was an Australian politician. Diplock was born in

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 14,292 people. Geography South Brisbane is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the nor ...

to house-painter Louis Diplock and Louisa May, ''née'' Lucas and attended state and private schools in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

. He was a student teacher from 1914 and taught in Rockhampton,

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

and

Bribie Island Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island is ...

from 1918 to 1924. He married Olive Constance Becker on 20 December 1920 at

Taroom Taroom is a town in the Shire of Banana and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality split between the Shire of Banana and the Western Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. In the , Taroom had a population of 885 people. Geography The t ...

. He was head teacher at six successive schools before acting as district inspector of schools for the south-west region from June to December 1952. He was elected to the seat of Condamine in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

in 1953 as a Labor Party candidate. Diplock was appointed minister for public instruction in 1956, and his ministry was chiefly remembered for a controversial bill providing for a government appointee to head an appointments and promotions repeal board at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

; the bill was repealed when the

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

won government in 1957. During the Labor split of that year, Diplock sided with his leader

Vince Gair Vincent Clair Gair (25 February 190111 November 1980) was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of Queensland from 1952 until 1957, when his stormy relations with the trade union movement saw him expelled from the Labor Party. He was e ...

in splitting away to form the

Queensland Labor Party The Queensland Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (State of Queensland) and commonly referred to as Queensland Labor or simply Labor, is the branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the state of Queensland. It has ...

(QLP), and he retained Condamine in that year's election. He transferred to Aubigny in 1960, defeating the sitting Country Party member Walter Sparkes, but by 1963 Diplock was the QLP's sole parliamentary representative. The QLP formally aligned with the national Democratic Labor Party in 1962, although Diplock continued to describe himself as a QLP member until 1969. He continued to represent Aubigny until its abolition in 1972, when he retired following the seat's abolition. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

in 1972. Diplock, despite being a member of the Catholic-associated DLP, was a devoted Anglican and

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. He retired to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

. He died in 1983 at Sandgate and was cremated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diplock, Les 1899 births 1983 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Queensland Labor Party (1957) members of the Parliament of Queensland Democratic Labor Party (Australia, 1955) politicians Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian schoolteachers Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians