Larry Anthony

Hubert Lawrence "Larry" Anthony (12 March 189712 July 1957) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Country Party and held ministerial office in the governments of Arthur Fadden and Robert Menzies, serving as Minister for Transport, Postmaster-General (1949–1956), and Minister for Civil Aviation (1951–1954). A soldier and banana-grower before entering politics, he represented the New South Wales seat of Richmond from 1937 to 1957, which was later held by his son Doug Anthony and grandson Larry Anthony.

Early life Anthony was born on 12 March 1897 in Warren, New South Wales. He was the son of Honora Elizabeth (née McNab) and George Edward Anthony. His mother was born in Ireland and his father, who was working as a labourer at the time of his birth, was born in Australia.

Anthony attended the Warren Public School. He left school at the age of fourteen and joined the Postmaster-General's Department as a messenger boy. He later worked as a postal assistant in Peak Hill, New South Wales. In October 1914, Anthony enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Anthony served on the Gallipoli campaign as a sapper and was present at the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915. A Bible he lost at Gallipoli was recovered by his commanding officer and returned to him in 1934. He was evacuated to England due to illness in August 1915, subsequently returning to Australia where he was discharged from the AIF in October 1916.

Politics

In 1937 Anthony was elected to the House of Representatives as Country Party member for the seat of Richmond. He became a powerful figure in the party and advanced rapidly. He was an Honorary Minister 1940–1941, and Minister for Transport in 1941. During the years of the wartime Australian Labor Party government (1941–1949), he was a senior member of the Opposition.

In 1949 the conservatives returned to power under Robert Menzies, and Anthony became Postmaster-General, adding the post of Minister for Civil Aviation in 1951. He held these posts until his sudden death at Murwillumbah in 1957.

Personal life In 1921, Anthony married Mary Jessie Stirling. He was widowed in 1941 and in 1946 married Lyndall Marion Thornton , a widow. He had a daughter and two sons from his first marriage and another daughter from his second marriage.

Anthony's son John Douglas Anthony succeeded him in federal parliament upon his death and went on to serve as leader of the Country Party and deputy prime minister of Australia. Doug's son Lawrence James Anthony also held the seat of Richmond and was a government minister, becoming the first three-generation dynasty in the House of Representatives.