Percy Stewart
|
The Honourable Percy Stewart |
|
|---|---|
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Wimmera |
|
|
In office 13 December 1919 – 14 October 1931 |
|
| Preceded by | Sydney Sampson |
| Succeeded by | Hugh McClelland |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
18 October 1885 Footscray, Victoria |
| Died | 14 October 1931 (aged 45) Woomelang, Victoria |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party |
Country (1919–25) Independent (1925–26) Country Progressive (1926–30) Independent (1930–31) |
| Spouse(s) | Edith Catherine Roberts |
| Occupation | Farmer |
Percy Gerald Stewart (18 October 1885 – 15 October 1931) was an Australian politician. He was an original member of the Victorian Farmers' Union and long a radical campaigner for farming interests. He helped bring down Stanley Bruce's government in 1929, but died soon after.
Stewart was born in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray, Victoria and educated at Yarraville State School. He worked in Melbourne and western Victoria, including a period as a shepherd, and then went to sea. He gained a master's certificate, but gave up sailing after contracting malaria. He then travelled in Europe and Canada before returning to Australia in 1909. In 1913, he selected a block of land in the Mallee at Carwarp, but later sold it and moved to another farm at Carwarp West. In 1916 Stewart married Edith Catherine Roberts. During World War I, he volunteered three times for military service but was turned down on health grounds. He worked with the Victorian Department of Agriculture to develop new techniques to improve crops yields in the Mallee. He bought the Mildura Sunraysia Daily in 1924 and was its chairman until his death.
Inspired by the Canadian grain growers' associations, Stewart helped found the Victorian Farmers' Union, which eventually developed into the Victorian branch of the Country Party. In September 1916, he was appointed to the VFU's central council and in November 1917 he won the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Swan Hill as one of four original VFU members. In parliament, he was highly independent and often voted with the Labor Party.
...
Wikipedia