Eric Bowden

Eric Kendall Bowden (30 September 1871 – 13 February 1931) was an Australian politician. A solicitor by profession, he served as Minister for Defence from 1923 to 1925, under Prime Minister Stanley Bruce. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1906 to 1910 and 1919 to 1929.

Early life

Bowden was born in Parramatta, New South Wales, the second son of Sarah Anne (née Smith) and John Ebenezer Bowden. His great-grandfather Thomas Bowden had arrived in the colony in 1812 and became one of Parramatta's earliest schoolmasters. Educated at Newington College (1882-1884) and Sydney Boys High School (1888–92), Bowden qualified as a solicitor in 1894 after serving articles with his father. Four years he later married Reinetta May Murphy.

Political career Bowden was an alderman on the Granville Borough Council from 1904 to 1907. He was elected to federal parliament at the 1906 federal election, aged 34, winning the newly created Division of Nepean for the Anti-Socialist Party. He was defeated in 1910 after a single term, losing to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) candidate George Cann.