Henry Zwar

Henry Peter Zwar, OBE (2 December 1873 – 12 January 1959) was an Australian liberal/conservative politician, local government councillor, local government head, Member of Lower House and tannery owner.

Henry Zwar OBE
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Heidelberg
In office 14 May 1932 – 3 October 1945
Preceded by	Gordon Webber
Succeeded by	District abolished
Personal details
Born	Henry Peter Zwar 2 December 1873 Broadford, Victoria
Died	12 January 1959 (aged 85) Kew, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Resting place	Coburg Cemetery
Political party	United Australia Party
Spouse(s)	Jane Frier Cunningham ​ ​ (m. 1898)​
Occupation	Tanner

Early life

Zwar was born in Broadford, Victoria in 1873. His parents, Michael Zwar and Agnes Zimmer, were Germans from Bautzen in Saxony, who had sought asylum after taking part in the 1848 revolution. The British government told them if they emigrated to Australia, they would be treated as British subjects, and they moved to Broadford in 1850.[1]

Political career

Zwar was elected as a United Australia Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Heidelberg at the 1932 state election. He was re-elected four times for the United Australia Party, and regularly attended and voted in party meetings, though he did not necessarily vote the party line, claiming "conscience as the final court of appeal".[2][3]

The UAP had become the Liberal Party by the 1945 election, at which an electoral redistribution abolished Heidelberg, placing Zwar in the new, notionally Labor seat of Preston, while shifting the more conservative areas of his old electorate to the new seat of Ivanhoe.[4] In October 1945, Zwar announced that he would not be an endorsed Liberal candidate for the forthcoming election and would contest as an Independent Liberal; he also stated that he did not belong to the Liberal Party and paid no party subscription.[5][6] He was defeated by 143 votes by Labor candidate and Victoria Cross holder William Ruthven.[7]

Later life

Zwar was president of the Preston Football Club from 1926 until 1944, then served as president of the Victorian Football Association from May 1944 until 1947.[8][9]

Zwar died in Kew, Melbourne, Victoria.[10]

References

1. "The Zwars celebtate a century". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 4 February 1950. p. 1. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
2. "Zwar, Henry Peter". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
3. "DECISION REGRETTED BY PREMIER". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 10 October 1945. p. 3. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
4. "LIBERAL WIN EXPECTED IN IVANHOE". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 26 October 1945. p. 8. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
5. "MR CAIN EXPECTS WIN IN PRESTON". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 1 November 1945. p. 5. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
6. "ELECTION SNAPSHOTS". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 9 October 1945. p. 20. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
7. "THE STATE ELECTIONS". Riverine Herald. Echuca, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 22 November 1945. p. 2. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
8. Fiddian, Marc (2004), The VFA: a history of the Victorian Football Association, 1877–1995, p. 99
9. "New football leader". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 9 May 1944. p. 9.
10. Woods, Carole. "Zwar, Henry Peter (1873–1959)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 18 February 2012 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.