Joe Abbott (Australian politician)

Joseph Palmer Abbott OBE, MC (18 October 1891 – 7 May 1965) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Country Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1940 to 1949, representing the Division of New England. During World War II he briefly held ministerial office as Minister for Home Security and assistant minister to the defence and army ministers.

The Honourable Joe Abbott OBE, MC
Minister for Home Security
In office 26 June 1941 – 7 November 1941
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies Arthur Fadden
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	Bert Lazzarini
Member of the Australian Parliament for New England
In office 21 September 1940 – 31 October 1949
Preceded by	Victor Thompson
Succeeded by	David Drummond
Personal details
Born	18 October 1891 North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died	7 May 1965 (aged 73) Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Country
Spouse(s)	Katherine Bliss Wilkinson ​ ​ (m. 1924)​
Relations	Mac Abbott (half-brother)
Alma mater	The Armidale School
Occupation	Soldier, farmer
Military service
Allegiance	Australia  United Kingdom
Branch/service	Australian Imperial Force (1915) British Army (1915–19)
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles/wars	First World War
Awards	Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross

Early life and career

Abbott was born in North Sydney, New South Wales, son of Joseph Palmer Abbott, and educated at The Armidale School and the University of Sydney, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1913. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1915 and served at Gallipoli. He was invalidated to England in October 1915 where he was discharged from the AIF so that he could join the Royal Field Artillery of the British Army in December 1915. In September 1918, he was awarded a Military Cross on the Western Front for putting out a fire. After the war, he became a farmer near Wingen and in 1924, he married Katherine Bliss Wilkinson. He became president of the Graziers' Association of New South Wales in 1935 and was president of the Graziers' Federal Council of Australia in 1937 and 1938.[1]

Political career

Abbott was elected as a Country Party member for the Australian House of Representatives seat of New England in the 1940 election. He was appointed to the new portfolio of Home Security in the Menzies ministry in June 1941 and was responsible for civil defence until the fall of the Fadden government in November 1941. In 1942 he was appointed chairman of the Administrative Planning Committee, which was responsible for organising supplies for the United States forces in Australia during World War II. He retired from parliament prior to the 1949 election.[1]

Personal life

Abbott was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1951. He died in the Sydney suburb of Camperdown, New South Wales and was survived by his wife and a son.[1] One of his half-brothers, Mac Abbott, was the member for Upper Hunter in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1913 to 1918 and a Senator from 1935 to 1941.[2]

Notes

1. Tsokhas, Kosmas (1993). "Abbott, Joseph Palmer (Joe) (1891–1965)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 4 February 2008 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
2. "Mr Macartney Abbott (1877–1960)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.