William Read (Australian politician)

William Raymond Read (21 July 1882 – 29 April 1974) was an Australian politician who was an independent member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1945 to 1953. He also served on the Perth City Council from 1926 to 1965.

William Read

MBE
Member of the Legislative Assembly
of Western Australia
In office
10 February 1945 – 14 February 1953
Preceded byHoward Raphael
Succeeded byHugh Andrew
ConstituencyVictoria Park
Personal details
Born(1882-07-21)21 July 1882
Lilydale, Victoria, Australia
Died29 April 1974(1974-04-29) (aged 91)
Victoria Park, Western Australia, Australia
Political partyIndependent

Early life

Read was born in Lilydale, Victoria, to Henrietta (née Raymond) and Alfred Read. He attended high school in Bendigo, and then moved to Western Australia to attend Perth Technical College, graduating as a pharmacist in 1902. Read eventually established his own pharmacy in Victoria Park. He served on the board of Karrakatta Cemetery, and was also involved with the Ugly Men's Association, a prominent charity.[1]

Politics and later life

In 1926, at the age of 44, Read was elected to the Perth City Council, representing the Victoria Park ward. He served as a councillor until his retirement in May 1965, aged 82.[1] Read entered parliament at the 1945 Victoria Park by-election, caused by the death of Howard Raphael. He polled 56.7 percent of the two-candidate-preferred vote, defeating Labor and Liberal candidates as well as several other independents.[2]

Read was re-elected at the 1947 state election, which resulted in a hung parliament. He and another independent, Harry Shearn, elected to support Ross McLarty as premier, allowing the formation of a Liberal government. This arrangement continued after the 1950 election (which resulted in another hung parliament), with the additional support of a third independent, David Grayden. Read did not stand for re-election in 1953.[1] He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1965,[3] and died in 1974, aged 91. Read had married Florence Matilda Mills in 1903, with whom he had four children.[1]

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See also

References
  1. William Raymond Read, Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  2. Black, David; Prescott, Valerie (1997). Election statistics : Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996. Perth, [W.A.]: Western Australian Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission. ISBN 0730984095.
  3. READ, William Raymond, It's An Honour. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
Parliament of Western Australia
Preceded by
Howard Raphael		 Member for Victoria Park
1945–1953		 Succeeded by
Hugh Andrew
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