Adair Macalister "Chill" Blain (21 November 1894 - 28 April 1983) was a long serving independent member of the Australian House of Representatives. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) In Politics, an independent is a Politician who is not Affiliated with any Political party. The House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers of the Parliament of Australia; it is the Lower house, the Upper house being the Senate
Born in Inverell, New South Wales, Blain was educated in Perth, Western Australia and the University of Adelaide and worked as a surveyor in Western Australia[1]. Inverell is a town in the north of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River. Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. The University of Adelaide (colloquially Adelaide University or Adelaide Uni) is a Public university located in Adelaide, South Australia Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent.
Following the outbreak of World War I, Blain served as a corporal in 32nd Battalion of the First Australian Imperial Force in France from 1916 to 1919[2]. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Returning from Europe, Blain worked as a surveyor in Northern Queensland before moving to the Northern Territory in 1929 to become the Darwin area surveyor. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the center of the mainland continent as well as the central northern regions
Blain's work took him throughout northern Australia, giving him the opportunity to gain a high profile, which he used at the 1934 federal election, when, standing as an independent for the Division of Northern Territory, Blain defeated the incumbent Labor member Harold Nelson[1]. The Division of Northern Territory was an Australian Electoral Division in the Northern Territory. Harold George Nelson ( 21 December 1881 - 26 April 1947) was the inaugural member for the Northern Territory in the Australian
During the 1934 election campaign Blain promised to resign from parliament if the Northern Territory representative was not granted full voting rights in parliament[1]. He reneged on this promise but continued to campaign for greater Territory control of Northern Territory affairs.
After changing his year of birth to 1897[1], Blain enrolled in the army during World War II and served as a sergeant in the 2/12 Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers and sent to Malaya[3]. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula that were colonized by the British from the 18th and the 19th until the 20th century Captured by the Japanese following the Fall of Singapore in 1942, Blain was a Prisoner of War, first in Singapore and later Borneo, until his release in September 1945[4]. The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Blain remains the only serving member of the House of Representatives to have been a Prisoner of War[1]. Blain returned to Australia, and upon re-entering the House, wearing his uniform, was the subject of a standing ovation from his fellow members[5]. He was then ordered to return to hospital where he spent the next two months recovering before returning to parliament[6].
Although officially an Independent, Blain worked closely with the Country Party[7] and while he was absent on wartime duties, Blain asked the Country Party member for Barker, Archie Cameron to act on his behalf. The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The Division of Barker is an Australian Electoral Division in the south-east of South Australia. Archie Galbraith Cameron (22 March 1895 - 9 August 1956 Australian politician was born in Happy Valley South Australia, and was the son of a Scottish-born farmer [8].
While serving as a POW, Blain was re-elected unopposed to his Northern Territory seat at the 1943 election[9], and elected again in 1946 before losing his seat at the 1949 election to Labor challenger Jock Nelson (the son of Harold Nelson, who Blain defeated in 1934). Electoral reform As of this election single transferrable vote with Proportional representation became the method for electing the Senate
Following his defeat, Blain moved to New South Wales to work as a surveyor.
The Northern Territory Electoral division of Blain is named for him. Blain is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia 's Northern Territory.
Brian Blain, the Australian actor and the engineer Milton Blain are his nephews. Brian Blain (1936 &mdash 1994 was a lugubrious Australian film and television Actor. Milton Blain (1924—) is a retired Civil engineer who played a pioneering role in the industrial development of parts of Central Queensland in particular
References
- ^ a b c d e ed. Carment, D. , Maynard, R. et al. (1990) Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography Vol. 1, Northern Territory University Press: Casuarina.
- ^ World War I Nominal Roll, [1] Accessed 21 November 2007.
- ^ World War II Nominal Roll, [2] Accessed 21 November 2007.
- ^ Lumb, M. , Bennett, S. et al. (2007) Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war, Research Brief, Australian Government Department of Parliamentary Services. 26 March 2007, no. 10, 2006–07
- ^ Lumb, M. , Bennett, S. et al. (2007) Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war, Research Brief, Australian Government Department of Parliamentary Services. 26 March 2007, no. 10, 2006–07
- ^ Kemp, R. & Stanton, M. (2004) Speaking for Australia: Parliamentary Speeches that Shaped Our Nation, Allen & Unwin: Sydney. ISBN 1741144302.
- ^ Souter, G. (1988) Acts of Parliament: A Narrative History of the Senate and House of Representatives, Melbourne University Press: Melbourne. ISBN 0522843670.
- ^ Lumb, M. , Bennett, S. et al. (2007) Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war, Research Brief, Australian Government Department of Parliamentary Services. 26 March 2007, no. 10, 2006–07
- ^ Lumb, M. , Bennett, S. et al. (2007) Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war, Research Brief, Australian Government Department of Parliamentary Services. 26 March 2007, no. 10, 2006–07
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Harold Nelson |
Member for Northern Territory 1934–1949 |
Succeeded by John Nelson |
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic