19 Facts About Harrie Seward

Harrie Stephen Seward was an Australian politician.

Harrie Seward was a Senator for Western Australia from 1951 until his death in 1958, representing the Country Party.

Harrie Seward previously served in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1933 to 1950 and was briefly a state government minister.

The oldest of four brothers, including footballer Leo Harrie Seward, he was the son of Mary Ellen and Stephen Harrie Seward.

Harrie Seward's father was a farmer and long-serving secretary of the Shire of Echuca.

Harrie Seward transferred to the Bank of Australasia in 1903 and worked in New Zealand until 1908, when he returned to Victoria and managed a rural bank.

In 1913, Harrie Seward moved to Pingelly, Western Australia, joining his brothers on a wheat farming property.

Harrie Seward was prominent in the local agricultural society and in the Primary Producers' Association.

Harrie Seward saw service with the 3rd, 49th and 58th Battalions on the Western Front and was evacuated to English hospitals on two occasions, first with a broken ankle and later with gunshot wounds to the head and leg sustained at the Battle of Polygon Wood.

Harrie Seward was commissioned as a lieutenant in July 1917 but was invalided to Australia in January 1918 as a quartermaster's adjutant on HMAS Euripides.

Harrie Seward re-enlisted in July 1918 and returned his battalion in France in November 1918, shortly before the end of the war.

Harrie Seward was discharged from the AIF in June 1919 and returned to Pingelly.

Harrie Seward first stood for parliament at the 1921 state election, unsuccessfully contesting the seat of Pingelly with the endorsement of both the Country Party and the National Labor Party.

Harrie Seward again contested Pingelly in 1930 as a Country Party candidate before succeeding on his third attempt at the 1933 election.

Harrie Seward was re-elected to a six-year term at the 1953 election, and died in office having announced his intention to retire at the 1958 election.

In 1952, Harrie Seward publicly criticised Prime Minister Robert Menzies' agricultural policy on the grounds it did not do enough to support farmers.

Harrie Seward crossed the floor on several occasions to vote against the Menzies government, including a 1953 bill allowing for commercial television and a 1958 bill increasing wages for stevedores.

In 1935, Harrie Seward married Eveline Brown; the couple had no children.

Harrie Seward died on 23 July 1958 at St John of God Hospital, Subiaco, aged 74, "after an illness lasting several months".