Dr Leslie James Albert Parr (15 June 1897 – 3 December 1956) was an Australian politician and a member of 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 ...

from 1951 until his death. He was 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 ...

. Parr was born in

Rockdale, New South Wales Rockdale is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rockdale is located 13 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George, New South Wales, St George area. Rockdale is one ...

, attending

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 s ...

in 1910–14. He was the son of a draper and graduated from the medical faculty of 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 ...

. He initially worked as a general practitioner but then specialized in Rheumatology and was the foundation president of the Australian Rheumatology Association. During World War Two he served with the

Royal Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian colon ...

and reached the rank of Major. Following the war he joined the Liberal Party and was elected the state president. On March 4 1946 he donated land to The Crusader Union of Australia which would go on to be used as a Christian campsite in

Lake Macquarie The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area (LGA) in the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city on 7 September 1984. It is adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is part of the Greater Newcastle area. The ...

. After an unsuccessful attempt to win the seat of

Dulwich Hill Dulwich Hill is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 7.5 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Inner West Council. Dulwich Hill stretche ...

at the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

state election. Parr was elected to the New South Wales Parliament as the Liberal member for the seat of Burwood at the 1951 by-election caused by the death of the sitting Liberal member

Gordon Jackett Harry Gordon Jackett (6 July 1887 – 3 May 1951) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1935 and 1938 and from 1941 until his death. He was variously a United Australia Party (UAP), Independ ...

. He retained the seat at the next election but died as the sitting member in 1956. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office. On his death Parr endowed the ''Parr Rheumatic Prize'' (now known as the ''Triennial Parr Prize in Rheumatology'') which is awarded every three years by the Australian Rheumatology Association for an important contribution to rheumatology research.

References

1897 births 1956 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 20th-century Australian politicians People educated at Sydney Boys High School {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub