Edward Brooker (Australian politician)
| Edward Brooker | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 31st Premier of Tasmania | |
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In office 19 December 1947 – 24 February 1948 |
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| Preceded by | Robert Cosgrove |
| Succeeded by | Robert Cosgrove |
| Constituency | Franklin |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
4 January 1891 London, England, UK |
| Died | 18 June 1948 (aged 57) Montrose, Tasmania, Australia |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Lydia Grace Minnie Wilson |
| Residence | Montrose, Tasmania |
William Edward Brooker (4 January 1891 – 18 June 1948) was an Australian 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.
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.
Brooker was a member of the Territorial Force, the volunteer component of the British Army, and a precursor to the Territorial Army. During World War I he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in Gallipoli, Thessaloniki and Palestine.
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 Australia. Brooker, his wife and their baby arrived in 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.
As a fitter, Brooker was a member of the Australian branch of the Amalgamated Engineering Union, and joined the Australian Labor Party, unsuccessfully running for the electorate of Franklin in the Tasmanian House of Assembly. Inspired by Major C. H. Douglas' Social Credit movement, Brooker ran for Franklin again in 1934 and won, becoming an MHA on 9 June 1934. 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.
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