Alan Robert Lindsay Gordon (19 January 1917 – 16 June 2011) was an Australian politician. He was 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 ...

member for Murrumbidgee in 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 1970 to 1984. He was Minister for Conservation and Water Resources from 1976 to 1981 (with Conservation replaced by Lands and Forests in 1980), Minister for Local Government and Lands from 1981 to 1984, and Minister for Lands and Ports for a few months in 1984. Gordon was born in Cessnock to baker David Irvine Gordon and Mary Mildred Cleary. He was educated at government schools in Cessnock and after graduating was apprenticed to a pharmacy. He attended 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 ...

, graduating in 1945. On 6 November 1943 he married Valerie Merle Webber, with whom he had five children. He subsequently owned a pharmacy, and also a trotting stud near Leeton. A

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, he joined the Labor Party in 1962. In 1965, he was elected to

Leeton Shire Council Leeton Shire is a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Murrumbidgee River and falls within the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. The Shire includes the town of Leeton an ...

, where he served until 1970 (including a year as president, 1969–1970). When

Al Grassby Albert Jaime Grassby, Member of the Order of Australia, AM (12 July 1926 – 23 April 2005) was an Australians, Australian politician who served as Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Australia), Minister for Immigration in the Australian ...

member for Murrumbidgee, resigned in 1969 to contest the federal seat of

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

, Gordon was selected as the Labor candidate for the resulting by-election, which took place early in 1970. He easily defeated his

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

and Country Party opponents. In 1976, he was appointed to the ministry, holding the Conservation and Water Resources portfolios. He briefly served as Acting Minister for Health in 1977, for Local Government in 1978 and for Corrective Services in 1979. In 1980 the Conservation portfolio was split into Lands and Forests, both of which were retained by Gordon. In 1981 his Forests and Water Resources portfolios were exchanged for Local Government, which in turn was exchanged for Ports in 1984. Gordon retired in 1984; his seat was won by

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

candidate

Adrian Cruickshank Adrian John Cruickshank (16 December 1936 – 21 May 2010) was an Australian politician and philanthropist. He was the National Party of Australia – NSW, National Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Electoral district ...

in his absence. Gordon died at his

Wagga Wagga 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 ...

home on 16 June 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Lin 1917 births 2011 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales People from Cessnock, New South Wales Ministers for the environment (New South Wales)