Raymond Leo Fitzgerald (27 July 1879 – 18 December 1963) was an Australian politician. He was 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 1941 until 1962 and served as an independent member until 1950 and then as a member of the Country Party. Fitzgerald was born in

Dungog Dungog is a country town on the Williams River in the Hunter region and a small part of the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Located in the middle of dairy and timber country, it is the centre of the Dungog Shire Local Go ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. He was the son of a dairy farmer and was educated to elementary level at Dungog Public School. He initially worked on his father's farm but eventually owned substantial dairy farms in the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...

. He was an official with local dairy farmers' organizations and was a councillor on

Dungog Shire Dungog Shire is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is situated adjacent to the Barrington Tops and consists predominantly of very rugged to hilly country which becomes less rugged from north t ...

council from 1901 to 1942. He was the mayor on several occasions. After one unsuccessful attempt, Fitzgerald was elected to the New South Wales Parliament at the

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

as the Independent member for

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

. He defeated the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

sitting member Charles Bennett. Fitzgerald retained the seat at the next 6 elections and retired at the

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

election. He joined the caucus of the Country Party prior to 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 ...

election. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office. In 1965, the

Fitzgerald Bridge The Fitzgerald Bridge (also known as the Bund Garden Bridge) is an historic structure located in Pune, India. It was constructed in 1867 during the British India period. It was the first spandrel arch bridge in the city of Pune, connecting th ...

from

Raymond Terrace Raymond Terrace, locally known as "Raymo” or "The Terrace", is a town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road north of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle on the Pacific Highway, Australia, Pacific Highway. Establi ...

to Nelsons Plains was named after Fitzgerald.The Fitzgerald Bridge at Raymond Terrace '' Main Roads'' December 1965 pages 53-55

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Ray 1879 births 1963 deaths Independent members of the Parliament of New South Wales National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 20th-century Australian politicians