Les Haylen

Les Haylen
Member of the Australian Parliament for Parkes
In office 21 August 1943 – 30 November 1963
Preceded by	Charles Marr
Succeeded by	Tom Hughes
Personal details
Born	(1898-09-23)23 September 1898 Gundaroo, New South Wales
Died	12 September 1977(1977-09-12) (aged 78) Lewisham, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse	Sylvia Myrtle Rogers
Occupation	Journalist

Leslie Clement "Les" Haylen (23 September 1898 – 12 September 1977), also known by the pen-name Sutton Woodfield, was an Australian politician, playwright, novelist and journalist.

Early life

Haylen was born on 23 September 1898 at Gundaroo, near Queanbeyan, to Irish maintenance worker Thomas Haylen and Catherine, née Day. He was the youngest of twelve children; the family moved to Sydney in 1908. Haylen was raised as a Catholic, but later lost his faith. Among his childhood influences were his literature-loving grandfather William Henry Day, and family friend Mary Gilmore.

Haylen enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 6 July 1918 and was sent to Europe, but his ship was recalled and he was discharged in January of the following year. Re-enlisting in June, he escorted German prisoners from London to Germany in the Tras-os-Montes. On his return to Sydney in November, he became a journalist with The Sunday Times. On 30 April 1927 he married shop-assistant Sylvia Myrtle Rogers at Chancery Square.

Journalism

The couple moved to Wagga Wagga where Haylen became chief sub-editor and leader-writer of the Daily Advertiser. His first play, the anti-war Two Minutes' Silence, was first staged in 1930; it ran in Sydney for twenty-six weeks and received positive reviews. A film based on the play was produced in 1933. Returning to Sydney in 1933, he became news editor of the Australian Women's Weekly.

In 1942, Haylen's contract with Consolidated Press Ltd was terminated by Frank Packer after he sought Australian Labor Party pre-selection for the seat of Parkes in the Australian House of Representatives. As a result, he became editor of the official newspaper of the ALP, the Standard. His 1943 victory over Sir Charles Marr in the elections of that year was unexpected; his margin was 1020.

Federal politics

Haylen was a committed socialist in Parliament, and he became known for his interest in the arts, foreign affairs, and economics. In 1944 he was the publicity director for the 1944 referendum, and in 1945 became chairman of the Commonwealth immigration advisory committee. The 1946 report of this committee formed the basis for the postwar immigration program in Australia.

Although he was overlooked for a cabinet post in 1946, he led a parliamentary delegation to Japan in 1948, when he sparked controversy by shaking hands with Emperor Hirohito. He also visited China, arranging for the migration of Europeans from Shanghai and (after Labor lost government in 1949) led a 1957 Labor delegation, again to China. His 1959 publication Chinese Journey expressed his support for the changes enacted by the communists in China. He was also a member of a 1963 parliamentary delegation to Southeast Asia.

Haylen was always a supporter of his parliamentary leaders Ben Chifley, H.V. Evatt and Arthur Calwell, and unsuccessfully stood for the deputy-leadership of the party in 1960. He was surprisingly defeated in the 1963 elections, but continued writing. He was unsuccessful in his attempts to enter the Senate in 1964 or to achieve pre-selection again for Parkes in 1965. His memoirs Twenty Years' Hard Labor were published in 1969, revealing Haylen's disillusionment with the ALP.

Haylen died on 12 September 1977 at Lewisham in Sydney, and was survived by his wife and two sons.

Works

Plays

• Two Minutes' Silence (1930)
• Change of Policy (1934)
• Freedom has a Beard (1937)
• Blood on the Wattle (1948)
• The Stormy Blast (1966)

Novels

• The Game Darrells (1933)
• The Brierley Rose (1935)
• Brown Boy Singing (1940)
• A for Artemis (1960), as Sutton Woodfield
• Big Red (1965)

Other works

• Chinese Journey (1959)
• The Tracks We Travel (1965, 1976), editor
• Twenty Years' Hard Labor (1969)

References

• Northey, R.E. (1996). "Haylen, Leslie Clement (Les) (1898 - 1977)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
• "Leslie Haylen". Canterbury City Council, New South Wales. August 2006. Retrieved 2008-08-08.