Graham Pratten | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theAustralian Parliament forMartin | |
| In office 16 June 1928 – 12 October 1929 | |
| Preceded by | Herbert Pratten |
| Succeeded by | John Eldridge |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1899-12-13)13 December 1899 Sydney |
| Died | 18 December 1977(1977-12-18) (aged 78) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Nationalist (1928–31) UAP (1931–45) Liberal (1945–59) Country (1959–76) |
| Children | 1, Helen Jill Meredith |
| Residence(s) | Wolseley Road, Point Piper |
| Occupation | Company director |
| Profession | Printer |
Frederick Graham Pratten (13 December 1899 – 18 December 1977) was an Australian politician. He was aNationalist Party member of theAustralian House of Representatives forMartin from 1928 to 1929 and a member of theNew South Wales Legislative Council from 1937 to 1976, successively representing theUnited Australia Party (1937-1945),Liberal Party (1945-1960) andCountry Party (1959-1972).
Pratten was born inLeichhardt and was educated atAbbotsholme College,Sydney Church of England Grammar School and theUniversity of Sydney, graduating with a bachelor of science in 1923. He worked in his family's firm, Pratten Bros., and subsequently took over as managing director of the business before he first entered politics. He was a director of the Australian board of London Assurance, the Pan Australia Unit Trust and Wentworth Hotel Limited, and was secretary of the Pymble branch of the Nationalist Party.[1][2][3]
In 1928 his uncle,Herbert Pratten, aNationalistMP, died, and Frederick was selected by the Nationalists to replace him in the resultingby-election for the seat ofMartin, defeating formerpremierWilliam Holman and BrigadierHerbert Lloyd in Nationalist preselection.[3] He won the by-election, and was returned in thefederal election later that year. He was defeated in the elections of 1929.[4]
Pratten was then elected to theNew South Wales Legislative Council in 1937.[2] In December 1938, he made a widely reported speech that demanded that the "inflow of foreign Jews" fleeingAdolf Hitler had to be checked to prevent "a serious problem which will undoubtedly strike at the social, economical and political nature of this State" and argued that the federal government should "ensure more rigid and scientific control of this type of immigrant".[5][6][7] In 1959, he was one of three Liberal MPs to defect to theCountry Party, giving the Country Party a majority among upper house members of the conservativeCoalition; it was reported that the split was due to a disagreement with the Liberal Party over policy on the abolition of the Legislative Council.[8] He served in the Legislative Council until 1976.[2]
Pratten was a director of theRoyal Prince Alfred Hospital from 1960 to 1971. He died atPotts Point in 1977.[2]
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member forMartin 1928–1929 | Succeeded by |
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