Philip McBride

Sir Philip Albert Martin McBride, (18 June 1892 – 14 July 1982) was an Australian politician. He was a United Australia Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for Grey from 1931 to 1937 and the Australian Senate from 1937 to 1944, and a Liberal Party of Australia member of the House of Representatives for Wakefield from 1946 to 1958. He served as a minister in both of Robert Menzies' governments, as Minister for the Army and Minister for Repatriation, Minister for Supply and Development and Minister for Munitions (1940–1941), Minister for the Interior (1949–1950), and Minister for Defence (1950–1958).

Early life and pastoralist career McBride was born at Burra, in the mid north of South Australia, the son of an early settler and well known pastoralist James McBride and his wife Louisa (née Lane), and was educated first at Burra Public School and then Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. He worked on the family sheep stations with his father, then went into partnership with him in 1915, and in 1920 formed the family business into a well-known South Australian company, A. J. and P. A. McBride, Ltd., with Philip McBride as managing director. The company controlled a number of pastoral stations across South Australia, including Braemar Station, Faraway Hill Station, Lincoln Park Station, Mernowie Station, Teetulpa Station, Wilgena Station, Wooltana Station and Yardea Station of which Paney was part. In the early years he was very much a hands-on man, involved in day-to-day matters at the sheep stations. He would serve as chairman of A. J. and P. A. McBride for fifty years. He was president of the Stockowners' Association of South Australia from 1929 to 1931 and represented South Australia on the Australian Woolgrowers Council during the 1930s. McBride unsuccessfully contested the 1927 state election in the Flinders Ranges electorate of Newcastle and the 1930 state election in Burra.

Federal politics McBride was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1931 election, when he won Grey for the United Australia Party, defeating incumbent Labor MP Andrew Lacey. As a backbencher, he advocated for increased assistance to farmers and lower tariffs, and was concerned with the interests of the wheat and wool industries, given that he represented one of the largest electorates in Australia. He was easily re-elected in 1934. Badman resigned from the Senate and contested and won Grey at the federal election, while McBride, already endorsed for the Senate ticket at the 1937 election, the victors in which would not take their seats until July 1938, was appointed to Badman's Senate vacancy in the interim. The deal had also been unusual in that McBride and Badman caucused with separate federal parties. Although both were members of the same state party, the Liberal and Country League, Badman was a member of the UAP's federal coalition partner, the Country Party. He returned to parliament for the Liberal Party at the 1946 general election, winning the House of Representatives seat of Wakefield.

Following the election of the Menzies government in 1949, McBride became Minister for the Interior from 1949 to 1950, and again resigned his directorships. In 1950, he was appointed Minister for Defence, a position he retained until his retirement from politics in 1958. He was described as having been a "close confidant" to Menzies and "an influential member of [Menzies'] inner circle" and, when he retired, was the last of the "Old Guard" of ministers who had supported Menzies when he had lost the UAP leadership in 1941.

After retiring from parliament, McBride again served as chairman of Elder Smith and Co Ltd (later Elder Smith Goldsbrough Mort Ltd), was on the board of the Bank of Adelaide and Wallaroo-Mount Lyell Fertilisers Ltd, and was a member of the Australian Wool Board. He was also federal president of the Liberal Party from 1960 to 1965.

McBride died at his home at Medindie in 1982 and was cremated. He was survived by his wife and two of his sons.

His great-grandson is the independent South Australian state parliamentarian Nick McBride, who quit the Liberal Party in 2023.

Honours McBride was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1953 and made a Privy counsellor in 1959.