Harrie Seward

Harrie Stephen Seward (26 February 1884 – 23 July 1958) was an Australian politician. He was a Senator for Western Australia from 1951 until his death in 1958, representing the Country Party. He previously served in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1933 to 1950 and was briefly a state government minister.

Early life Seward was born on 26 February 1884 in Rochester, Victoria. The oldest of four brothers, including footballer Leo Seward, he was the son of Mary Ellen (née Kelleher) and Stephen Seward. His father was a farmer and long-serving secretary of the Shire of Echuca.

Seward was educated at St Patrick's College, Ballarat. In 1900 he joined the Commercial Banking Company's Ballarat branch. He transferred to the Bank of Australasia in 1903 and worked in New Zealand until 1908, when he returned to Victoria and managed a rural bank.

In 1913, Seward moved to Pingelly, Western Australia, joining his brothers on a wheat farming property. He was prominent in the local agricultural society and in the Primary Producers' Association.

State politics Seward first stood for parliament at the 1921 state election, unsuccessfully contesting the seat of Pingelly with the endorsement of both the Country Party and the National Labor Party. He again contested Pingelly in 1930 as a Country Party candidate before succeeding on his third attempt at the 1933 election.

In 1952, Seward publicly criticised Prime Minister Robert Menzies' agricultural policy on the grounds that it did not do enough to support farmers. He crossed the floor on several occasions to vote against the Menzies government, including a 1953 bill allowing for commercial television and a 1958 bill increasing wages for stevedores. On the 1953 bill, he stated "I am certainly no socialist, and do not believe in control by the Government, but it so happens that television is one of the few things that may be controlled by governments".

Personal life In 1935, Seward married Eveline Brown; the couple had no children.