17 Facts About Reginald Weaver

Reginald Walter Darcy Weaver was an Australian conservative parliamentarian who served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for 28 years.

Reginald Weaver then witnessed the death of the United Australia Party in 1943 and became the leader of the new Democratic Party in 1944.

Reginald Weaver was then involved in the negotiations to form the New South Wales branch of the Liberal Party, with Weaver becoming the first leader of the state Liberal Party in April 1945.

Reginald Weaver served only briefly until dying of a heart attack in November 1945.

Reginald Weaver was born at Kickerbill station, Quirindi, New South Wales, on the Liverpool Plains, the twelfth child of English-born parents Richard Weaver and his wife Fanny Seymour Weaver.

Reginald Weaver was educated at Newington College in Sydney before joining two of his brothers in a stock and station agency in Forbes and then branching out on his own at Condobolin and Narrandera.

Reginald Weaver contested the result, accusing the Labor Party of manipulating the rolls.

Suspicious of the Irish Catholic establishment, embodied by the Labor Party, Reginald Weaver joined the Protestant Federation in 1921 and became a sympathiser of the right-wing New Guard.

Reginald Weaver served until, citing business reasons, he retired from parliament on 18 April 1925.

Nevertheless, Reginald Weaver was appointed by Premier Thomas Bavin on 16 April 1929 as the Secretary for Mines and Minister for Forests.

In opposition, Reginald Weaver witnessed the end of the Nationalist Party and was elected Deputy Leader of the new United Australia Party in New South Wales in 1931.

When Sir Daniel Levy retired from parliament, Reginald Weaver was elected as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on 4 August 1937.

In 1938, he was cleared by a judicial inquiry, chaired by Sir Percival Halse Rogers, into Jack Lang's allegations of fraud and corruption in the sale of state enterprises in 1933 when Reginald Weaver was the Secretary for Public Works.

Reginald Weaver served as Speaker until the succeeding government of Alexander Mair was defeated at the May 1941 election by the Labor Party under William McKell.

Reginald Weaver was elected as the first leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party on 20 April 1945.

Reginald Weaver suffered a mild heart attack in the Legislative Assembly chamber on the evening of 7 November 1945 and drove himself home.

Reginald Weaver died a week later on 12 November 1945 at Hornsby Hospital, survived by his wife, son and three daughters.