Edward Oldfield
| Edward Oldfield | |
|---|---|
| Constituency | Maylands, Mount Lawley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 August 1920 Maylands, Western Australia, Australia |
| Died | 2 December 1990 Noranda, Western Australia |
| Political party | Liberal, Independent Liberal, Labor |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Smith |
| Profession | Commercial traveller |
Edward Peate Oldfield (23 August 1920 – 2 December 1990) was an Australian politician, and a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1951 until 1965 representing the seats of Maylands and Mount Lawley at different times.
Oldfield was born in Maylands, an inner Perth suburb, to Ernest Henry Oldfield, a commercial traveller, and Lena Eva (née Peate). He attended Victoria Park Primary School and Perth Boys' School, and obtained work as a truck driver by 1940. On 20 May 1940, with Australia actively involved in the Second World War, Oldfield enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and served in Egypt, Syria and New Guinea with the HQ Co. 2/16th Battalion. On 24 November 1944, he married Margaret Smith at St George's Cathedral, Perth, with whom he had two sons. After attaining the rank of Private, he was discharged in 1945.
After his war service, he worked as a commercial traveller with Wigmores. In April 1949, he was elected to the Bayswater Road Board as a councillor, in which role he served for six years. He had also joined the Liberal Party and, following the death on 21 January 1951 of the long-serving Independent Liberal member for Maylands, he contested and won the resulting by-election on 17 February 1951 for the party. He served two terms in that capacity.
Due to a boundary redistribution at the 1956 election, Maylands had become a safe seat for the Labor Party, so Oldfield instead ran for the neighbouring seat of Mount Lawley. However, former Liberal minister Arthur Abbott was the Liberal Party's official candidate, and in a two-horse race, Oldfield won with 67.8% of the votes. He was subsequently refused admission to the Parliamentary Party, a move which was not uncontroversial as it was seen as rejecting "unendorsed candidates who had clearly won the confidence of electors". He sat in Parliament as an "Independent Liberal", and was appointed by the Labor government to a Select Committee inquiring into welfare conditions in the Laverton-Warburton Range area.
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