James Vinton Smith
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James Vinton Smith MC |
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|---|---|
| Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Oakleigh |
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In office 14 May 1932 – 6 September 1937 |
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| Preceded by | Squire Reid |
| Succeeded by | Squire Reid |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Taylor Vinton Smith 3 November 1897 Parkside, South Australia |
| Died | 22 July 1952 (aged 54) Malvern East, Victoria, Australia |
| Political party | United Australia Party |
| Spouse(s) | Constance Lillian Randall (m. 1925) |
| Occupation | Stock broker |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Australian Imperial Force |
| Years of service | 1916–1919 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | 13th Brigade |
| Awards | Military Cross |
James Taylor Vinton Smith, MC (3 November 1897 – 22 July 1952) was an Australian politician. He was the Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Oakleigh from 1932 to 1937, for the United Australia Party.
He was born in 1897 in Parkside, a suburb of Adelaide, to Thomas Ladyman Home Smith and Minerva Mary Daniel. He was educated at Adelaide High School, and on 25 April 1915, joined the Bank of New South Wales in Adelaide as a bank clerk.
Vinton Smith enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Adelaide on 1 February 1916, and was assigned to the 113th Howitzer Battery of the 13th Brigade, with which he saw active service in France. He attained the rank of Lieutenant on 1 March 1917.
On 2 April 1919, he was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry during a battle on the Selle River in October 1918, for which he was also Mentioned in Despatches. The citation read:
Lt. James Taylor Vinton Smith, 113th (Howr.) By., 13th Bde., Aust. F.A.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on 17th October, 1918, at the capture of the high ground E. of La Selle river. His battery occupied a position 1,000 yards in rear of the front line, and suffered many casualties from machine-gun and artillery fire. The battery commander and another officer being both wounded, he took charge, and supervising the removal of the wounded, handled the battery most capably until its task was completed.
Vinton Smith nominated as a candidate for the seat of Oakleigh in the Victorian Legislative Assembly at the 1932 Victorian state election. Although aligned with the United Australia Party, he was not the endorsed UAP candidate, and ran as an independent against the official UAP candidate and the Labor candidate, incumbent member Squire Reid. When the UAP candidate was eliminated, his second preferences gave him a majority over Reid, winning him the seat. Despite having defeated the endorsed candidate, Vinton Smith was immediately admitted to the UAP parliamentary party upon his election. Vinton Smith—this time fully endorsed by the UAP—narrowly defeated Reid again in the 1935 election, but Reid regained the seat in 1937.
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