Reginald William Colin Swartz KBE (1911 - 2006)

Ancestors

Biography

Sir Reginald Swartz KBE was an Australian politician who represented the Division of Darling Downs in the House of Representatives between 1949 and 1972 and was a member of the Government for the entire length of his parliamentary service. He was a cabinet minister during the governments of Sir Robert Menzies, Harold Holt and John Gorton.

Reginald 'Reg' William Colin Swartz was born on 14th April 1911 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He was the second son of John Swartz and Mary Wood. ^[1] The family soon after settled on Queensland's Darling Downs, where Reginald's father was transferred with the Postmaster General's Department (Australia Post). There, the lad attended East Toowoomba State School and Toowoomba Grammar School. After the family retuned to Brisbane he completed his secondary education at Brisbane Grammar School.

Upon leaving school in 1926, aged sixteen, Reginald went to work as an office boy for the British Imperial Oil Company, which became Shell Oil.

He enlisted in the Commonwealth Military Force (Militia) in 1928, earning prompt promotion to the senior non-commissioned rank of Sergeant and, in 1934, commissioned as a Lieutenant.

Reginald married Hilda Robinson on 24th April 1936 in Brisbane. ^[2]

On 25th November 1940 at Chermside, in Brisbane's north, transferring from the Militia with the rank of Captain, Reginald was commissioned in the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF), his nation's all-volunteer expeditionary force for the Second World War. His next of kin was Hilda. ^[3] Posted to the 2/26th Infantry Battalion, he trained initially at Grovelly, in Brisbane's west, and then at Redbank Camp, Ipswich from January 1941. In late February the battalion began moving to Bathurst, New South Wales, where it joined the other battalions of the 27th Brigade as part of the 8th Division. The battalion left Bathurst on 29th July bound for Singapore, via Melbourne, arriving on 15th August. In Singapore, the 2/26th was camped near Changi village on the south-eastern tip of the island. With war against Japan increasingly likely, at the start of October the battalion began deploying to Malaya where it continued its training and prepared defences. On the night of 6th December 1941 the battalion stood to arms and was concentrated north of Kota Tinggi. It saw no action for the ensuing month and on 10th January 1942 moved to Johore, on the western side of the peninsula. The 27th Brigade formed part of Westforce and fought alongside British and Indian troops. As Westforce withdrew towards Singapore Island towards the end of January, the 2/26th were shelled by Japanese artillery, strafed by Japanese aircraft and came under heavy fire. On 30th January the battalion crossed the Causeway into 'fortress' Singapore. When the Japanese attacked Singapore on 8th February the brigade defended the Causeway sector. They could not stop the Japanese, however, and on 15th February the British commander on Singapore surrendered. ^[4]

After the surrender the battalion was concentrated in Changi Gaol, where the men were used as labour for work parties, first in Singapore and then in other parts of Japan's Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere. Reginald and many of his mates were sent to Burma and Thailand to work on the railway. ^[5] Following liberation after war's end, repatriation to Australia and rehabilitation, he was demobilised from the AIF on 28th February 1946. ^[3] He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for 'highly meritorious service as a POW in Thailand'. ^[6][7]

Back at Shell after the war, Reginald became a marketing representative for the company in the Toowoomba area. By 1949 he held an executive position with the company.

Reginald was re-commissioned in the Militia in 1948 as a Major. He retired in 1961 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Reginald was elected as the Member for Darling Downs in the Federal House of Representatives in 1949, representing the Liberal Party of Australia. In 1956 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Trade, leading trade missions to India in 1956 and South East Asia in 1958. He was appointed Minister for Repatriation in 1961, moving to Minister for Health from 1964 to 1966 (less a brief period when he was Minister for Social Services in early 1965). He was Minister for Civil Aviation from 1966 to 1969 before moving to Minister for National Development from 1969 to 1972. As Leader of the House in 1971-1972 he was responsible for managing government business in the House of Representatives.

He was created Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1972. Later that year he retired from parliament.

After his retirement, Reginald took up a number of company directorships, as well as being active in the Queensland POW Association, the RSL and the Royal Commonwealth Society. He also served as chairman of the AIF Malayan Nursing Scholarship Board, was life patron of the Australian Army Aviation Association, and was Honorary Colonel of the Army Aviation Corps from 1968 to 1974.

Reginald and Hilda retired to Buderim, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Hilda passed away in 1995. In 1998 Reginald married Muriel Elizabeth McKinstry.

Aged 94 years, he passed away on 2nd February 2006. He was survived by Muriel, together with two sons and a daughter from his first marriage and their families.

Swartz Barracks at the Army Aviation Centre, Oakey is named for Reginald.

Sources

1. ↑ Queensland Birth Index #1911/B/25228
2. ↑ Queensland Marriage Index #1936/B/24768
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: 124930 (QX6459) Captain Reginald William Colin Swartz; accessed 28 Aug 2023
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 2/26th Infantry Battalion; accessed 28 Aug 2023
5. ↑ Prisoner of War Memorial Ballarat; accessed 28 Aug 2023
6. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: MBE; accessed 28 Aug 2023
7. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards (recommendation: MBE; accessed 28 Aug 2023

See also

• Farquharson, John. 'Swartz, Sir Reginald William Colin (Curly) (1911–2006)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 28 Aug 2023.
• Wikipedia: Reginald Swartz; accessed 28 Aug 2023.