John Chanter

John Moore Chanter (11 February 1845 – 9 March 1931) was an Australian politician, farmer and commission agent. He was a member of the Protectionist Party, as well as the Australian Labor Party and the Nationalist Party of Australia.

Early life Chanter was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and was the son of John Chanter and Elizabeth née Moore. He was educated at the Albert House Academy and the Collegiate School of St Peter in Adelaide, as well as at the Model Training Institution when his family relocated to Melbourne in 1856. Chanter was a storekeeper and farmer and in 1878, he became the first secretary of the Victorian Farmers' Union.

In 1881 he moved to Moama, New South Wales, as an auctioneer and commission agent where he was prominent in establishing the Australian Natives' Association in New South Wales, and became its first president in 1900.

Federal politics Chanter was noted for his democratic views, and was a supporter of Edmund Barton in the lead-up to the Federation of Australia. In 1901 he was elected to the seat of Riverina in the first Australian Parliament, as a member of the Protectionist Party. He was subsequently elected as the inaugural chairman of committees.

Chanter lost Riverina in 1903 to the Free Trade Party candidate Robert Blackwood, but regained it in the 1904 by-election after a petition to the High Court.