Harold Mason

Harold Harvey Mason KC (28 January 1890 – 8 May 1949) was an Australian barrister and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1937 to 1938, representing the seat of Woollahra as an independent aligned with the United Australia Party (UAP).

Early life Mason was born on 28 January 1890 in Hunters Hill, New South Wales. He was the son of Sarah Jane and William Henry Mason; his father was a shipping master at the Port of Sydney.

Mason attended Fort Street High School and went on to the University of Sydney, graduating Bachelor of Laws in 1913 with first-class honours.

As a barrister, Mason practised primarily in equity and bankruptcy. He was appointed King's Counsel in 1934.

Mason regarded his victory as a vote against preselection, the process by which only a single endorsed candidate would be nominated by the UAP prior to the election. Mason subsequently joined the parliamentary crossbench.

Mason opted not to re-contest Woollahra at the 1938 state election, stating "another term in the House would be a waste of time".

Personal life In 1914, Mason married Marjorie Macken, with whom he had four children.

Outside of politics and the law, Mason served as a director of Sydney department store Mark Foy's. He was also the owner of "Spring Valley", a grazing property of located in the Molonglo Valley section of the Australian Capital Territory. At the time of his death, there were approximately 1,900 sheep on the property.

Mason died on 8 May 1949 after falling about over a cliff above the Molonglo River. A coronial inquest concluded the fall was accidental and occurred after he "slipped in a soft patch of soil on the cliff-top immediately above the spot where his body was found".

Mason was interred at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium. His estate was valued for probate at £67,105 .