William Charles Wentworth AO (1907 - 2003)

Born 8 Sep 1907 in Woollahra, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Barbara Chisholm (Baird) Wentworth — married 29 Jun 1935 in Reno, Washoe, Nevada, United States

Died 15 Jun 2003 at age 95 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Bill Wentworth AO is Notable.

Bill Wentworth AO MA was an Australian politician, who served as a Liberal and later Independent member of the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1977, with a reputation as a fierce anti-Communist.

William Charles 'Bill' Wentworth was born in 8th September 1907 at Woollahra, New South Wales, Australia. He was the eldest son of William Wentworth.^[1] He was educated at The Armidale School, Armidale, New South Wales and at New College, Oxford, England where he gained a Master of Arts (MA).^[2]

Returning to New South Wales in 1930, he briefly worked as a factory hand at Balmain, before becoming secretary to the Attorney-General of New South Wales.^[2]

He married Barbara Baird on 29 June 1935 at Reno, Nevada, USA.^[3]

Bill Wentworth AO is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Australian Army 1941-1943

Although he suffered from poor vision (which prevented his joining the Australian Imperial Force), from 1941 to 1943 Bill served in the Australian Army as a Lieutenant in administrative positions.^[4]

At the 1943 federal election, he stood unsuccessfully as an independent for the House of Representatives seat of Wentworth (named after his great-grandfather). In 1945 he joined Robert Menzies' new party, the Liberal Party of Australia and at the 1949 election was elected to the House of Representatives for Mackellar in the northern suburbs of Sydney. He made important recommendations on solving one of Australia's longest-standing infrastructure problems, the incompatible rail gauges in the different states, a legacy of colonial times. Bill's other long-term interest was in Aboriginal affairs; spending time each year in Central Australia where his meetings and friendships with Aboriginal people gave him some insights into the difficulties they faced, a respect for cultural difference and the opportunity to think about policy directions which might actually suit the people concerned. He was appointed minister for Social Services and the first to be minister of Aboriginal Affairs. Wentworth took the first practical step towards the granting of indigenous land rights when he proposed giving the Gurindji people control of their land at Wave Hill station in the Northern Territory. He retired from parliament after 28 years and resigned from the Liberal Party in October 1977. During his time in the House of Representatives, Bill voted against his party more often than any other MHR in Australian history.^[2]

In 1993 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Queen's Birthday Honours for 'service to the Australian Parliament, particularly in relation to Aboriginal rights and to the standardisation of inter-state rail gauges'.^[5]

He retired to north Queensland, from where he continued to write pamphlets and newspaper articles until his death in Sydney on 15th June 2003 at the age of 95. He was survived by his wife Barbara, four children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #42087/1907
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Wikipedia profile: Bill Wentworth; accessed 15 Mar 2020
3. ↑ Wentworth - Baird Marriage (WikiTree)
4. ↑ Department of Veterans' Affairs nominl roll: N73473 Lieutenant William Charles Wentworth; accessed 15 Mar 2020
5. ↑ Australian Honours; acessed 15 Mar 2020