Thomas Scholfield | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Wannon | |
| In office 19 December 1931 –21 September 1940 | |
| Preceded by | John McNeill |
| Succeeded by | Don McLeod |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 May 1894 Telangatuk East, Victoria |
| Died | 25 June 1964 (aged 70) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | United Australia Party |
| Occupation | Farmer |
Thomas Hallett Scholfield, MC (9 May 1894 – 25 June 1964) was an Australian politician. He was a United Australia Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1931 to 1940, representing the electorate of Wannon.
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two Prime Ministers of Australia – Joseph Lyons (1932–1939) and Robert Menzies (1939–1941).
Scholfield was born in Talangatuk East, Victoria, where he attended state schools and became a farmer. He enlisted to serve in World War I in January 1915, fought with the 21st Battalion at Gallipoli and in France, and received the Military Medal and Military Cross, returning to Australia in June 1919. He subsequently became a soldier settler in the Balmoral area before acquiring a farm near Hamilton, and was a councillor and president of the Shire of Kowree. [1] [2]
World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.
The 21st Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was raised in 1915 as part of the First Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I and formed part of the 6th Brigade, attached to the 2nd Division. It fought during the Gallipoli campaign and on the Western Front before being disbanded in late 1918. The battalion was the first Australian battalion to commence active operations on the Western Front and also had the distinction of being the last to pull back when the Australian Corps was withdrawn from the line. In 1921, the battalion was re-raised as a part-time unit of the Citizens Force but was later amalgamated with the 23rd Battalion in 1929 to form the 23rd/21st Battalion.
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east.
He was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1931 federal election, defeating Labor MP John McNeill. He had campaigned on a platform of addressing the needs of primary producers. [1] [2] [3] He held the seat until his defeat by Labor candidate Don McLeod at the 1940 election. [4] He unsuccessfully recontested the seat as an independent in 1943. [5]
Federal elections were held in Australia on 19 December 1931. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election.
John James McNeill was a 20th-century Australian politician.
Donald McLeod was an Australian politician. Born in Strathmerton, Victoria, he received a primary education and worked as a farmer before enlisting in the AIF in March 1916. He served as a Gunner in the 36 Australian Heavy Artillery Group until leaving the military in April 1919 to become a soldier settler at Gringegalgona. In 1940, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Wannon. He held the seat until his defeat by Liberal candidate Dan Mackinnon in 1949. He defeated Mackinnon in a rematch two years later. In 1954, he was nearly defeated by Liberal challenger and future Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, holding onto his seat by only 17 votes. After a redistribution made his seat notionally Liberal, McLeod retired in 1955 and returned to farming. He died in 1963.
During World War II, Scholfield served as deputy-assistant quartermaster general in the Volunteer Defence Corps. [6]
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
Following World War II, Scholfield moved to New South Wales and assumed a prominent role as organising secretary of the New England New State Movement. [7]
The New England New State Movement was an Australian political movement in the twentieth century. Originally called the Northern Separation Movement, the aim of the movement was to seek the secession of the New England region and surrounding areas from the State of New South Wales (NSW) and the establishment of a new State of New England. While initially popular and the subject of two Royal Commissions, the movement was ultimately unsuccessful, following defeat at a referendum in 1967.
Scholfield died in 1964. [8]
