Edward Brooker
Edward Brooker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 31st Premier of Tasmania | |
| In office 19 December 1947 – 24 February 1948 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Cosgrove |
| Succeeded by | Robert Cosgrove |
| Constituency | Franklin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 January 1891 Labor Party |
| Spouse | Lydia Grace Minnie Wilson |
| Residence(s) | Montrose, Tasmania |
William Edward Brooker (4 January 1891 – 18 June 1948) was a
Labor Party politician. He became the interim Premier of Tasmania on 19 December 1947 while Robert Cosgrove
was facing corruption charges. He died on 18 June 1948, shortly after returning the premiership to Cosgrove on 24 February 1948.
Early life and military service
Brooker was born in Hendon, a suburb of London, and was educated at Enfield Grammar School. He began working as a clerk for the Asiatic Petroleum Company, and later managed his father's business.[1]
Brooker was a member of the
Territorial Army. During World War I he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in Gallipoli, Thessaloniki and Palestine.[1]
Leaving the army as a sergeant in 1919, Brooker married Lydia Wilson in London, and in 1921 was tempted by the offer of free passage to
Melbourne on 31 August 1921, and moved to Tasmania where he worked as a farm labourer, then as a pipe-fitter at the Cadbury's Chocolate Factory in Claremont.[1]
Political career
As a
Social Credit movement, Brooker ran for Franklin again in 1934 and won, becoming an MHA on 9 June 1934.[1] In the House of Assembly, he served as Government Whip (1936–1939) until joining the cabinet of Robert Cosgrove as Minister for Transport (1939–42), Chief Secretary (1939–43) and Minister for Tourism (1942–43). In November 1943, he was made Minister for Land and Works, and in 1946, the portfolio of Post-War Reconstruction.[3]
In December 1947, the
pulmonary oedema
on 18 June 1948.
Legacy
The
Hobart highway known as the Northern Outlet, the idea of which was conceived by Brooker as transport minister, was renamed the Brooker Highway
in his honour.
References
- ^ Melbourne University Press, 1993, p. 265.
- ^ Brooker, William Edward (1891 - 1948), Australian Trade Union Archives.
- ^ Ministers - House of Assembly - 1856 to 1950 Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Parliament of Tasmania, 24 February 2006.
- ^ "Brooker, Edward". Members of the Parliament of Tasmania. Retrieved 24 July 2022., Parliament of Tasmania, 24 November 2005.
