Harry Gardiner (politician)

John Henry "Harry" Gardiner (25 May 1907 – 8 April 1974) was an Australian politician, who served as a Member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales, Mayor of Redfern and Chairman of the Sydney County Council.

The Honourable Harry Gardiner
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
In office 15 September 1960 – 8 April 1974
Preceded by	Gerald Rygate
Succeeded by	Walter Scott
Chair of the Sydney County Council
In office 24 January 1938 – January 1939
Preceded by	Arthur McElhone
Succeeded by	Stanley Parry
Mayor of Redfern
In office 31 December 1934 – 10 January 1936
Preceded by	John Joseph Castle
Succeeded by	Joseph Malachi Gilmore
Alderman on the Redfern Municipal Council
In office 2 January 1932 – 6 December 1941
Constituency	Redfern Ward
Personal details
Born	(1907-05-25)25 May 1907 Redfern, New South Wales, Australia
Died	8 April 1974(1974-04-08) (aged 66) Sydney, Australia

Early life and career

He was born in Redfern to businessman Edward Felix Gardiner. He was educated at Haberfield Public School and Fort Street High School before becoming a motor parts manufacturer. Around 1928 he married Dora Elizabeth Saunders, with whom he had three children.

Political career

In January 1932, Gardiner was first elected as a Labor Party candidate to a seat on Redfern Ward of the Redfern Municipal Council and soon rose to be mayor of the council in December 1934.[1] Gardiner was appointed mayor by the Minister for Local Government, Eric Spooner, which was due to the deadlocked nature of the council, which was split equally between Labor and independents, and the council up until then had been unable to settle on a candidate for mayor.[2][3] Taking office as mayor at age 26, Gardiner was the youngest mayor in Sydney and served until January 1936.[4] Gardiner continued to serve on Redfern council until his defeat at the December 1941 elections.

In August 1935, Gardiner was elected to the No.2 Constituency of the Sydney County Council and faced an unsuccessful legal challenge from his main conservative opponent, who disputed the results.[5][6] In January 1938, he was elected chairman of the county council and served for a single term.[7] Defeated as a county councillor in 1945, Gardiner was elected in September 1947 to fill a vacancy in the council caused by the retirement of Stanley Parry.[8] He served on the county council until the election in February 1949 when he was defeated, along with many other Labor councillors.[9][10]

From 1960 to 1974 he was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, during which time he was associated with the Independent Labor Group. Gardiner died in office in 1974.[11]

References

1. "MUNICIPALITY OF REDFERN – ELECTION OF ALDERMEN – DECLARATION OF POLL". The Sydney Morning Herald (29, 329). New South Wales, Australia. 5 January 1932. p. 3. Retrieved 8 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "APPOINTMENT OF MAYOR OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF REDFERN". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (234). New South Wales, Australia. 31 December 1934. p. 4888. Retrieved 8 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "LORD MAYOR". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 1 January 1935. p. 7. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
4. "THE YOUNGEST MAYOR". The Mirror. 13 (646). Western Australia. 15 September 1934. p. 11. Retrieved 8 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "SYDNEY COUNCIL ELECTION". The Newcastle Sun (5623). New South Wales, Australia. 20 December 1935. p. 7. Retrieved 8 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "FOR COUNTY COUNCIL". Truth (2380). New South Wales, Australia. 18 August 1935. p. 16. Retrieved 8 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "COUNCILLOR GARDINER ELECTED". The Newcastle Sun (6274). New South Wales, Australia. 24 January 1938. p. 1. Retrieved 8 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "NEW SYDNEY COUNTY COUNCILLOR". The Sydney Morning Herald (34, 234). New South Wales, Australia. 11 September 1947. p. 15. Retrieved 8 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "Labour Fails at County Council Vote". The Sydney Morning Herald (34, 676). New South Wales, Australia. 10 February 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 8 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "Labour Hopes in County Council". The Sydney Morning Herald (34, 651). New South Wales, Australia. 12 January 1949. p. 5. Retrieved 8 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "Mr John Henry Gardiner (1907–1974)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 6 May 2019.

 

Civic offices
Preceded by John Joseph Castle	Mayor of Redfern 1934–1936	Succeeded by Joseph Malachi Gilmore
Government offices
Preceded by Arthur McElhone	Chairman of the Sydney County Council 1938–1939	Succeeded by Stanley Parry
Parliament of New South Wales
Preceded by Gerald Rygate	Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council 1960 – 1974	Succeeded by Walter Scott