Hubert Lawrence Anthony

The Honourable Larry Anthony
Minister for Civil Aviation
In office 11 May 1951 – 9 July 1954
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Thomas White
Succeeded by	Athol Townley
Postmaster-General of Australia
In office 19 December 1949 – 11 January 1956
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Don Cameron
Succeeded by	Charles Davidson
Minister for Transport
In office 26 June 1941 – 7 October 1941
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies Arthur Fadden
Preceded by	Position re-established
Succeeded by	George Lawson
Member of the Australian Parliament for Richmond
In office 23 October 1937 – 12 July 1957
Preceded by	Roland Green
Succeeded by	Doug Anthony
Personal details
Born	(1897-03-12)12 March 1897 Warren, New South Wales Colony, British Empire
Died	12 July 1957(1957-07-12) (aged 60) Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Country
Relations	Doug Larry
Relatives	Anthony family
Occupation	Farmer Soldier Politician
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Australian Army
Years of service	1914–1916
Rank	Sapper
Unit	First Australian Imperial Force
Commands	2nd Signal Troop (Engineers)
Battles/wars	World War I Gallipoli campaign
Service number	521
Active duty	25 July – 10 August 1915
Discharge reason	Medically unfit
Awards	1914–15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

Hubert Lawrence "Larry" Anthony (12 March 1897 – 12 July 1957) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Country Party and held ministerial office in the governments of Arthur Fadden and Robert Menzies, serving as Minister for Transport (1941), Postmaster-General (1949–1956), and Minister for Civil Aviation (1951–1954). A soldier and banana-grower before entering politics, he represented the New South Wales seat of Richmond from 1937 to 1957, which was later held by his son Doug Anthony and grandson Larry Anthony.

Early life

Anthony was born on 12 March 1897 in Warren, New South Wales. He was the son of Honoria Elizabeth (née McNab) and George Edward Anthony. His mother was born in Ireland and his father, who was working as a labourer at the time of his birth, was born in Australia.

Anthony attended the Warren Public School. He left school at the age of fourteen and joined the Postmaster-General's Department as a messenger boy. He later worked as a postal assistant in Peak Hill, New South Wales. In October 1914, Anthony enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). He was assigned to the No. 2 Signal Troop of the Royal Australian Engineers and embarked for Egypt in December 1914. Anthony served on the Gallipoli campaign as a sapper and was present at the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915. A Bible he lost at Gallipoli was recovered by his commanding officer and returned to him in 1934. He was evacuated to England due to illness in August 1915, subsequently returning to Australia where he was discharged from the AIF in October 1916.

Banana-growing

After leaving the military, Anthony moved to Sydney where he worked as a clerk and studied accounting and economics. In 1919 he took up a property near Tweed Heads, New South Wales, under a soldier settlement scheme and established a banana plantation. He served on the Tweed Shire Council from 1919 to 1922. His plantation's first crop failed due to banana bunchy top virus and they had to leave the property. A subsequent sugar-growing venture was also unsuccessful.

Anthony briefly worked as a land agent on what would become Queensland's Gold Coast, selling land at Burleigh Heads and Surfers Paradise on commission. Using his savings he returned to banana-growing, eventually becoming one of Australia's most successful producers. He helped establish the New South Wales Banana Growers' Federation in 1928 and was an advocate for research into bunchy top. By 1944 he reportedly had over 200 acres (81 ha) under cultivation.

Politics

Anthony in 1938

In 1937 Anthony was elected to the House of Representatives as Country Party member for the seat of Richmond. As a powerful figure in the party he had rapid promotion. He was an Honorary Minister 1940–1941, and Minister for Transport in 1941. During the years of the wartime Australian Labor Party government (1941–1949), he was a senior member of the Opposition.

In 1949 the conservatives returned to power under Robert Menzies, and Anthony became Postmaster-General, adding the post of Minister for Civil Aviation in 1951. He held these posts until his sudden death at Murwillumbah in 1957.

Personal life

In 1921, Anthony married Mary Jessie Stirling. He was widowed in 1941 and in 1946 married Lyndall Marion Thornton (née Ingram), a widow. He had a daughter and two sons from his first marriage and another daughter from his second marriage.

Anthony's son John Douglas Anthony succeeded him in federal parliament upon his death and went on to serve as leader of the Country Party and deputy prime minister of Australia. Doug's son Lawrence James Anthony also held the seat of Richmond and was a government minister, becoming the first three-generation dynasty in the House of Representatives.

See also

• Anthony family

External links

• National Archives of Australia: (Army – World War I: 1914–18) – Military service extract: Anthony, Hubert Lawrence

Further reading

• Davey, Paul (2008). Politics in the Blood: The Anthonys of Richmond. UNSW Press. ISBN 9781921410239.