Claude Barnard

Herbert Claude Barnard (16 October 1890  6 December 1957) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and represented the Division of Bass in federal parliament from 1934 to 1949. He served as Minister for Repatriation in the Chifley Government from 1946 to 1949. His son Lance Barnard also entered federal politics and served as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia in the 1970s.


Claude Barnard
Minister for Repatriation
In office
1 November 1946  19 December 1949
Prime MinisterBen Chifley
Preceded byCharles Frost
Succeeded byWalter Cooper
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Bass
In office
15 September 1934  10 December 1949
Preceded byAllan Guy
Succeeded byBruce Kekwick
Personal details
Born(1890-10-16)16 October 1890
Mole Creek, Tasmania, Australia
Died6 December 1957(1957-12-06) (aged 67)
Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Political partyLabor
Spouse(s)
Martha Melva McKenzie
(m. 1912)
RelationsLance Barnard (son)
OccupationEngine driver

Early life

Barnard was born at Mole Creek, Tasmania and was educated at Invermay State School, but left school at 14. In 1909 he began working for Tasmanian Government Railways, first as an engine cleaner and eventually as a driver. In March 1912 he married Martha Melva McKenzie and they raised three sons and a daughter in East Launceston. In 1920 he helped found the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen.[1]

Federal politics

Barnard stood unsuccessfully at the 1931 election as the Australian Labor Party candidate for the seat of Bass in the Australian House of Representatives. In 1933, he became state secretary of the party and at the 1934 election he won Bass. From 1941 to 1946, he was chairman of the joint parliamentary committee on social security, which developed much of the Curtin and Chifley governments' social policy agenda. In November 1946, he was appointed Minister for Repatriation in the second Chifley Ministry. Although one of his sons was killed in the war and the other two were injured, he was under constant attack from service organisations and others for not delivering more for war veterans and, like his predecessor, Charles Frost, in 1946, he lost his seat at the 1949 election.[1]

Later life

In 1950, Barnard was elected to represent the Tasmanian House of Assembly division of Bass and held it until his death in 1957. He died of cancer in Launceston Public Hospital, survived by his wife and two sons, one of whom, Lance Barnard, was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia 1972–74.[1]

References

  1. Chapman, R. j. k. (1993). "Barnard, Herbert Claude (1890–1957)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 13 January 2008 via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
Political offices
Preceded by
Charles Frost
Minister for Repatriation
1946–1949
Succeeded by
Walter Cooper
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by
Allan Guy
Member for Bass
1934–1949
Succeeded by
Bruce Kekwick
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