Ross McDonald
In office 13 April 1938 – 14 December 1946 | |
Preceded by | Norbert Keenan |
Succeeded by | Ross McLarty |
Attorney-General of Western Australia | |
In office 1 April 1947 – 5 January 1948 | |
Preceded by | Hubert Parker |
Succeeded by | Arthur Abbott |
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia | |
In office 8 April 1933 – 23 March 1950 | |
Preceded by | Thomas Davy |
Succeeded by | Joseph Totterdell |
Constituency | West Perth |
Personal details | |
Born | Liberal (from 1945) | 25 January 1888
Alma mater | University of Adelaide |
Occupation | Barrister |
Sir Robert Ross McDonald
Early life
McDonald was born in Albany, Western Australia, to Mary Jane (née Elder) and Angus McDonald. He boarded at Scotch College, Perth, and then studied law by correspondence at the University of Adelaide. He was called to bar in 1910. McDonald enlisted as a private in the Australian Imperial Force in 1916, and later served as a lower-level officer with various artillery units in France and Belgium. He had reached the rank of lieutenant by the end of the war. On his return to Australia in 1919, McDonald joined the law firm of Robert Thomson Robinson (a fellow Albany native), eventually becoming a partner. He was a part-time lecturer at the University of Western Australia from 1928 to 1931, and also served as the foundation vice-president of the Australian branch of the International Commission of Jurists.[1]
Parliamentary career
At the
In 1944 and 1945, McDonald was involved in the affiliation of Western Australia's Nationalist Party to the new federal Liberal Party, and the corresponding name change. He resigned as leader of the Liberal Party in December 1946, in favour of Ross McLarty, with the belief that the party would be better served by a leader from a rural constituency.[3]
As well as being the first WA Liberal leader he was the only WA Liberal leader who did not lead the party to an election until Matt Birney.
After the
Later life
McDonald was
Notes
- Nationalist Partyuntil 1945.
- ^ The previous member, Thomas Davy, had died in office only months before the election, but no by-election was held.
References
- ^ a b c Robert Ross McDonald – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ISBN 0730984095.
- ^ OCLC 70677943.)
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