John Hearman

John Merrifield Hearman CMG (10 November 1910 – 20 February 1994) was an Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1950 to 1968, representing the seat of Blackwood. He served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1959 to 1968, with only Sir James Lee-Steere having served in the position longer.

Early life Hearman was born in Surrey, England, to Minnie (née Merrifield) and Walter Edgar Hearman. His family moved to Western Australia when he was three years old, settling in Donnybrook. His older sister, Joan Tully, became a prominent agricultural scientist. Attending Guildford Grammar School, Hearman was a talented rower in his youth and represented Western Australia at the 1930 King's Cup (the Australian national championships).

In 1939, Hearman enlisted in the Australian Army, where he was initially attached to the 2/16th Battalion as a platoon commander and machine gunner. Hearman saw service in the Middle East, New Guinea, Borneo, and the Celebes, and was mentioned in dispatches during the Kokoda Campaign. He reach the rank of major by the war's end and was briefly attached to the British Indian Army in 1946, as an officer in the 80th Infantry Brigade. Hearman was discharged in March 1946, and returned to his dairy farm.

Hearman was the first sitting speaker since Timothy Quinlan in 1911 to be defeated at a general election. Hearman returned to his farm after leaving politics, and died in Donnybrook in February 1994, aged 83. He had married Millicent Jean Hardie in 1943, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.