Maxwell Wilkinson Oldmeadow (3 August 192421 March 2013) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

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 ...

(ALP) and sat in 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 ...

from 1972 to 1975, representing the Victorian seat of Holt. He was a schoolteacher before entering parliament and a member of the Dandenong City Council from 1970 to 1973.

Early life

Oldmeadow was born on 3 August 1924 in

Dandenong, Victoria Dandenong ( ) is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated m ...

. He was the son of Henry and Blanche Oldmeadow. His father was born in

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

to Methodist missionaries, and later ran a hay and grain store in Dandenong. Oldmeadow attended primary school in

Dandenong West Dandenong ( ) is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated ma ...

and completed his secondary schooling at Dandenong High School and

Wesley College, Melbourne Wesley College is a co-educational, open-entry private school in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is the only school in Victoria to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) from early childhood to Year 12. The college ...

. He later completed a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and diploma in education at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

and then qualified as a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

teacher through

Melbourne Teachers' College The Melbourne Teachers College was built in 1889-92 as the principal teacher training institution for the State of Victoria, Australia. It is located on Grattan Street, Carlton, on the grounds of the University of Melbourne. After various add ...

. At the time of his election to parliament he was vice-principal of Pakenham High School.

Politics

Oldmeadow joined the ALP in 1968. He became president of the party's Dandenong branch and was a member of the Dandenong City Council from 1970 to 1973. He was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1972 federal election, defeating the incumbent

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 ...

MP Len Reid in the seat of Holt. In parliament, Oldmeadow served on the House Standing Committee on Publications, the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence and the House Select Committee on Specific Learning Difficulties. He was re-elected at the 1974 election, but lost his seat to Liberal candidate William Yates in the landslide defeat of the

Whitlam government The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 Australian federal elect ...

at the 1975 election.

Later activities

Oldmeadow returned to teaching after leaving parliament, including as principal of Chandler High School from 1977 to 1982. He was the co-author of ''The Human Adventure'', a school textbook selling over 200,000 copies which told "the story of human civilisation from the beginning of time to the Middle Ages". Oldmeadow was on the council of

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

from 1978 to 1984, representing the education faculty. He a member of the Victorian Teaching Service Conciliation and Arbitration Commission from 1982 to 1985 and was made a life member of the

Australian College of Educators The Australian College of Educators (ACE) is an Australian national professional association for educators. Membership is open to all professional educators working in the early childhood, school, and tertiary education sectors, as well as to ed ...

in 2003.

Personal life

Oldmeadow married Pam Saunders in 1948. They had three sons. He was a

lay preacher A lay preacher is a preacher who is not ordained (i.e. a layperson) and who may not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Overview Some denominations specifically disco ...

for over 50 years in the Methodist Church and its successor, the

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost a ...

. Oldmeadow died in

Noble Park, Victoria Noble Park is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district. It is part of the administrative area of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area (LGA), and recorded a population of ...

, on 21 March 2013, aged 88.

References

Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Holt Members of the Australian House of Representatives Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 1924 births 2013 deaths People from Dandenong, Victoria Australian schoolteachers Australian Methodists Australian MPs 1972–1974 Australian MPs 1974–1975 {{Australia-Labor-representative-stub