Mervyn William Lee (18 August 1920 – 13 December 2009) was an Australian politician who served as the

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 ...

member for

Lalor Lalor is an Irish surname derived from the Irish ''Ó Leathlobhair'', from ''leath-'' “leper; weak, ailing person”. Notable people with the surname include: * Denis Lalor, athlete * Francis Ramsey Lalor (1856–1929), politician * James Fi ...

from 1966 to 1969. He died in December 2009 at the age of 89.

Early life and war service

Born in

Broadford, Victoria Broadford is a town in central Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census, Broadford had a population of 4,076. The town is the headquarters of the Shire of Mitchell Local government in Australia, local ...

in August 1920, he was educated at Kingswood College in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

before becoming a Commonwealth public servant. After serving in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

1941–46, he became a drapery and hardware merchant. He played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

for Acton in the Canberra Australian National Football League and while captain of Acton in 1947 won the Mulrooney Medal.

Political career

In 1966, 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

member for

, defeating long-serving

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 Reg Pollard. Prior to the 1969 election, a redistribution shrunk Lalor to a quarter of its size in south-western Melbourne. The redistribution erased his majority and gave Labor a notional six-percent majority. Broadford and the surrounding areas where Lee was based in was also transferred from Lalor to the

Division of Bendigo The Division of Bendigo is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the states and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was ...

. As a result, Lee went to unsuccessfully contest Bendigo instead. He had early considered standing as the Liberal candidate at the 1969 Bendigo by-election, which would have required a by-election in Lalor.

References

1920 births 2009 deaths Acton Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Hardware merchants Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Lalor Public servants from Melbourne Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Australian MPs 1966–1969 {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub