David Gordon (Australian politician)

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Sir David John Gordon (4 May 1865 - 12 February 1946) was a former member of the Australian House of Representatives and the South Australian Legislative Council.

Born in Riverton, South Australia, the son of a Scottish carpenter, miller and farmer, Gordon was educated at Stanley Grammar School, Watervale before his family moved to Yorke Peninsula where he worked on the family farm.

Gordon moved to Adelaide and worked as a grain merchant. He became a deacon of the Congregational Church, and met Anna Louise Peel, a pianist at his local church, who he married on 4 April 1888. Later that year Gordon became a journalist with the South Australian Register, in which capacity he accompanied Clement Giles on his exploration of central Australia. Returning from the trek, Gordon became an enthusiastic supporter of the development of central Australia, writing numerous books and articles on the subject over the next twenty years, including The Central State and The 'Nile' of Australia. Additionally, Gordon edited several editions of the annual Handbook of South Australia.

Gordon eventually became leader-writer at the Register and regularly advocated for the improvement of the farming and pastoral industries in South Australia, as well as transportation throughout the state. His level of influence was such that he was able to persuade the government to establish a freezing works at Port Adelaide.

Involved in liberal politics, Gordon unsuccessfully stood as a Commonwealth Liberal Party Senate candidate at the 1910 election before his election as a member for the Federal Division of Boothby at a by-election in 1911 following the death of the incumbent Lee Batchelor. In parliament Gordon was a vocal supporter of the development of South and central Australia and was a member of the Royal Commission on the fruit industry. Gordon lost his seat at the 1913 election but switched to state politics and was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council in 1913.

Gordon was appointed Minister for Education and Repatriation by Premier Archibald Peake in July 1917 but resigned the next month in protest at the Commonwealth Liberal Party's coalition with the Nationalist Party of Australia, and rejected further offers of ministerial posts from Peake.

Gordon became party leader in the council in 1918 and President of the Legislative Council from 1932 until his retirement from politics in 1944. He was awarded a Knight Bachelor in 1925 and in 1927 chaired the Australian delegation to the International Economic Conference, Geneva.

He served variously as President of the Australian Liberal Union, the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Australia, the Adelaide Chamber of Commerce, and President of the South Australian branch of Toc H and the Sailors' and Soldiers' Fathers' Association. He was also a director of numerous companies.

Referred to as "a highly principled man with a strong personality", Gordon died in Unley Park, South Australia, survived by two sons and two daughters (his wife predeceasing him by 12 years). One son, Douglas, served in the Legislative Council while the second, John, was a pilot who was awarded the Military Cross in World War I.

[edit] References

• Details on Gordon's Knighthood at It's An Honour
• Van Den Hoorn, R. (1983) Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 9, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.