Lord Mayor of Adelaide
What was the position of John McLeay Sr. in Dec 1946?
John McLeay Sr . Sir John Jack McLeay , ( 19 November 1893 – 22 June 1982 ) was an Australian politician . He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1966 , representing the Division of Boothby in South Australia . He was Speaker of the House of Representatives for a record 10-year term , from 1956 to 1966 . McLeay was a businessman by profession , and before entering federal politics served as Mayor of Unley ( 1935–1937 ) , as a member of the South Australian House of Assembly ( 1938–1941 ) , and as Lord Mayor of Adelaide ( 1946–1950 ) . Early life . McLeay was born on 23 November 1893 in Port Clinton , South Australia . He was the second of six children born to Marguaretta ( née Barton ) and George McLeay . His older brother George McLeay Jr . also entered federal politics , serving as a government minister . Their father , a farmer , died in 1908 , and their mother moved the family to Adelaide . Their horse became exhausted along the way and the older children had to walk the last on foot . McLeay attended state schools in Port Clinton and Unley until the age of fourteen , leaving school to work as an errand boy . He later studied at Muirden College , a business college in Adelaide , and worked as a commercial traveller . McLeay enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) in May 1915 . He served with medical units in the Middle East and on the Western Front . While stationed in France as a stretcher-bearer with the 13th Field Ambulance , he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery on the opening day of the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918 . He was formally discharged from the military in October 1919 . After returning to Australia , McLeay went into business with his brother George as accountants and general agents . Their firm McLeay Bros later evolved into a wholesale and retail furnishing business . He married Eileen Elden in 1921 , with whom he had two sons and a daughter . State and local politics . Elected to the Adelaide suburban Unley City Council in 1924 , McLeay served as Mayor of Unley from 1935 to 1937 , resigning to contest the state Electoral district of Unley as an independent at the 1938 election . He was one of 14 lower house MPs to be elected as an independent , which as a grouping won 40 percent of the primary vote , more than either of the major parties . At the time , there were 39 MPs in the legislature . Tom Stott was the de facto leader of the independent caucus within parliament . McLeay lost Unley at the 1941 election and later acknowledged that his three-year period in the House of Assembly was a waste of time , in terms of his being able to accomplish anything as an independent . Federal politics . Nevertheless McLeay did not stay out of politics for long . He was elected Lord Mayor of Adelaide in 1946 , and held that office till 1949 , during which time he gained Liberal and Country League pre-selection for the federal electorate of Boothby in south-central Adelaide for that years federal election . The seat had been held by Labor incumbent Thomas Sheehy , but a redistribution notionally made the seat a marginal LCL seat . While Sheehy made an unsuccessful bid to transfer to neighbouring Kingston , McLeay won Boothby on a large swing of 9.3 percent , turning it into a safe LCL seat in one stroke . He entered the Australian House of Representatives as part of that years massive Coalition landslide . In 1956 McLeay became Speaker of the House . He remained Speaker for more than 10 years ( a record that still stands ) , until he resigned from parliament on 31 October 1966 . In 1959 , following the 1958 federal election , he was challenged unsuccessfully for the Liberals speakership nomination by Percy Joske . He was re-elected to the speakership unopposed in 1959 , 1962 , and 1964 . During his tenure there were only three dissent motions against his rulings , and he received praise from Robert Menzies , Arthur Calwell , and Gough Whitlam . Calwell said that he would have asked McLeay to stay on in the position if Labor won the 1961 election , while Whitlam described him as ideal for the post and wrote that in my experience and observation the House has not had a better Speaker . Later life . Following his retirement , McLeay served as Chairman of McLeay Brothers Ltd . and director of other companies , as well as member of the Tramways Trust Board , the State Bank of South Australia and the council of the University of Adelaide . He also served as president of the Adelaide Legacy Club , the South Australian Retail Furniture Association , the South Australian Playground Association and the South Australian Tree Planters Association . McLeay was nicknamed Marrow Jack for his prowess in vegetable-growing . Created a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1962 for political and community services , McLeay had family members who carried on the tradition of political activism . His brother George and his son John Jnr both served in the federal parliament , John Jnr having inherited the electorate of Boothby from John Snr . McLeay died in Adelaide after a short illness , predeceased by his wife , Lady Eileen . A state funeral was held in his honour .