Bob Joshua
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Bob Joshua MC |
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|---|---|
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Ballaarat |
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In office 28 April 1951 – 10 December 1955 |
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| Preceded by | Alan Pittard |
| Succeeded by | Dudley Erwin |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
6 June 1906 Prahran, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 2 June 1970 (aged 63) Ballarat, Victoria, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party |
Labor (1951–55) Labor (A-C) (1955) |
| Spouse(s) | Alma Agnes Watson (m. 1929–1970; his death); 6 children |
| Occupation | Motor mechanic, soldier |
Robert "Bob" Joshua, MC (6 June 1906 – 2 June 1970) was an Australian politician, and a key figure in the 1955 split in the Australian Labor Party which led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) and, subsequently, the Democratic Labor Party.
Robert Joshua was born at Prahran, Victoria, to Edward Cecil Joshua, a Mauritian distiller, and Mary Inglis, née Drummond, who was born in Victoria. He attended Caulfield State School and Wesley College, was briefly a motor mechanic, and became a teller at the Bank of Australasia. He married schoolteacher Alma Agnes Watson at Glen Iris on 27 November 1929.
Joshua served in the Civilian Military Forces from 1924–30 and from 1936–40, rising to the rank of captain. Subsequently, he joined the Australian Imperial Force in 1940 and was posted to the Middle East. He led a successful raid during the defence of Tobruk in Libya, and was awarded the Military Cross. Promoted from major to lieutenant colonel in 1942, he commanded the 2nd/43rd Battalion, which fought around Lae and Finschafen in New Guinea. He was twice wounded in action.
Upon returning to civilian life, Joshua began to reshape his previously conservative political views. He became drawn to the Australian Labor Party, and became president of the Ballarat branch. In 1951, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives for the seat of Ballaarat. He was known as a fierce anti-communist.
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