- Geoffrey Street
Geoffrey Austin Street MC (
21 January 1894 –13 August 1940 ) was anAustralia n Cabinet Minister and member of the House of Representatives, representing theDivision of Corangamite from 1934 until his death in 1940.Street was born in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra and educated at
Sydney Grammar School and theUniversity of Sydney . In 1914, he volunteered for military service and served in theFirst Australian Imperial Force and was wounded in the Gallipoli landing and served later inFrance andBelgium . Street was awarded theMilitary Cross in 1917, and in 1919 was discharged with the rank ofMajor .Street married Evora Francis Currie in 1918 and purchased part of his father-in-law's property in the
Western District of Victoria and became a successful sheep grazier and local politician. He became a councillor of Hampden Shire Council in 1924 and its president in 1913.cite web
first=Cameron
last=Hazlehurst
title =Street, Geoffrey Austin (1894 - 1940)
publisher =Australian National University
work=Australian Dictionary of Biography
url =http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120135b.htm
accessdate = 2007-08-10 ]Political career
At the request of
Robert Menzies , Street stood for and won Corangamite in 1934. He became Minister for Defence in November 1938 and played a major role in the expansion of the military and munitions production prior to the outbreak ofWorld War II and pushed the National Registration Act (1939) through parliament despite strong opposition. Following the outbreak of war he worked energetically to put Australia on a war footing, although from November 1939, Menzies abolished the position of Minister for Defence and appointed Street Minister for the Army and Minister for Repatriation.Street died in the
Canberra air disaster, 1940 , along with two other Cabinet ministers. His son,Tony Street , was Member for Corangamite from 1966 to 1983.References
Persondata
NAME=Street, Geoffrey Austin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH=21 January 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH=Woollahra, New South Wales ,Australia
DATE OF DEATH=13 August 1940
PLACE OF DEATH=Canberra ,Australia
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