Richard Steele Shalders (born 14 March 1938) is a former Australian politician who was a

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 ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

from 1974 to 1983, representing the seat of Murray. He served as a minister in the government of Ray O'Connor. Shalders was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, and attended Midland High School before going on to Claremont Teachers College. He worked as a schoolteacher from 1959, initially at

Manjimup Senior High School Manjimup Senior High School is a comprehensive independent public co-educational high day school, located in Manjimup, a regional centre in the South West region of Western Australia, south of Perth. The school was established in 1957 and ...

, and eventually became 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 ...

principal.Richard Steele Shalders
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 4 June 2016. A member of the Liberal Party from 1966, Shalders was elected to parliament at the 1971 state election, replacing the retiring Ewart Runciman as the member for Murray. He retained his seat at the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, and 1980 elections. When Ray O'Connor replaced Sir

Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was an Australian politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 8 April 1974 to 25 January 1982. A member of the Western Australian Liberal Party, Liberal Par ...

as premier in January 1982, Shalders was made an honorary minister in his new ministry. After a few months, he was made a substantive minister, taking over from Ray Young as Minister for Community Welfare, Minister for Housing, and Minister for Consumer Affairs. O'Connor's government was defeated at the 1983 state election. Shalders had attempted to transfer from Murray to the new seat of Mandurah, but lost to

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 ...

's John Read. He was one of four ministers to lose their seats, along with June Craig, Bob Pike, and Ray Young. After leaving parliament, Shalders was involved with a variety of businesses in Mandurah, including a real estate company and a bakery.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shalders, Richard 1938 births Living people Australian schoolteachers Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People educated at Governor Stirling Senior High School Politicians from Perth, Western Australia