Vasey Houghton

Vasey Houghton

William Vasey Houghton MLC (1921-01-03–2001-01-11), better known as Vasey Houghton, was an Australian politician, grazier, and conservationist. He was one of the longest-serving members of the Victorian State Parliament, spending eighteen years as a Member of the Legislative Council, nine of them on the front bench.

Houghton was born in Melbourne, the son of solicitor William Sharwood Houghton and Doris Thackery. He attended Melbourne Grammar School and spent a year at the University of Melbourne studying law, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. At the time he had also been working as an articled clerk in his father's law firm, Mills, Oakley and McKay. From 1940 until 1945 he served in the Australian Imperial Force, earning promotion to the rank of Lieutenant in 1942. When he returned to Australia in 1945, he decided not to return to the law, instead setting up as a farmer near Yarra Glen. In 1948, he married Audrey Gourlay.

In 1967, Houghton ran for the Victorian Legislative Council, obtaining a seat in the new Province of Templestowe. He served on the Council for fifteen years, and in that time was Minister for Social Welfare (1973); Health (1976–1979); and, from 1980 to 1985, the portfolios of Conservation, Lands, and Soldier Settlement. He was also Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet before moving onto Social Welfare.

Today, Houghton is best-remembered for his work cleaning up HM Prison Pentridge and the Yarra River. As Minister for Social Welfare, he successfully worked to abolish "C" division of the gaol, which at the time was known as the "Hell division". He told reporters at the time, "Prisoners are not rough, tough hooligans. Most of the occupants of prison are inadequate, pitiful people." In 1980 he was appointed chairman of a parliamentary committee to investigate pollution in the Yarra River and the possible cleanup of what he described as the "depressed, ramshackle buildings" along the southern bank of the river. As a result of his work, the Victorian Government spent six million dollars cleaning up the area.

After retiring from politics in 1985, Houghton concentrated on his family and his work as a farmer. He died in 2001, one week after his eightieth birthday. At Houghton's funeral, former Victorian Premier Lindsay Thompson praised him for his conservation work, telling mourners that "That probably proved to be the best $6 million the government spent that year because [Labor planning minister] Evan Walker took up the project and Southbank is now one of Melbourne's great assets." The funeral was held 2001-01-16 in St Peter's Chapel, at Melbourne Grammar.

The "Vasey Houghton Bridge," a bridge on the Melba Highway across the Yarra River, was named in his honour and opened on 1999-01-23.

References

*"Liberal minister took a crowbar to 'Hell' of a jail", Philip Jones, "The Australian", 2001-02-05
*"Man of Vision Gets Honorable Send-Off", Meaghan Shaw, "The Age", 2001-01-17
*HANSARD records of the Fifty-Fourth Victorian State Parliament, 27 February 2001 (Book 1) ( [http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/downloadhansard/pdf/assembly/Autumn%202001/Assembly%20Parlynet%20Extract%2027%20February%202001%20from%20Book%201.pdf available online in PDF] )

External links

* [http://geocaching.com.au/cache/gc548d Bridges on the Yarra River] — Geocaching Australia


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Houghton — may refer to PlacesAustralia* Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide * Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland * Houghton Island (Queensland)Canada*Houghton Township, Ontario, a… …   Wikipedia

  • William Houghton — may refer to: * William Houghton (archbishop) * William Houghton (reverend), author of British Fresh Water Fishes (1879) * William Vasey Houghton, (1921–2001), better known as Vasey Houghton, Australian politician * William Stanley Houghton (1881 …   Wikipedia

  • Melbourne Grammar School — Latin: Ora et Labora ( Pray and Work )[1] Location …   Wikipedia

  • 1921 in Australia — Infobox Australian year year = 1921 monarch = George V governor general = Henry Forster pm =Billy Hughes population = 5,455,136 australian = elections =Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia See also: 1920 in Australia, other events of 1921 …   Wikipedia

  • Raymond Garrett — Sir Raymond William Garrett AFC, AE (October 1900 ndash;12 October 1994) was an Australian photographer, pilot, and politician. A member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Garrett served on the Victorian Legislative Council for eighteen years,… …   Wikipedia

  • Norman Lacy — The Honourable Norman Lacy Th.Schol. Australian College of Theology, B.A.(Hons) Monash University, M.Sc. (Dunelm) Durham University U.K. Me …   Wikipedia

  • Members of the Victorian Legislative Council, 1967–1970 — This is a list of members of the Victorian Legislative Council between 1967 and 1970. As half of the Legislative Council s terms expired at each triennial election, half of these members were elected at the 1964 state election with terms expiring …   Wikipedia

  • Members of the Victorian Legislative Council, 1970–1973 — This is a list of members of the Victorian Legislative Council between 1970 and 1973. As half of the Legislative Council s terms expired at each triennial election, half of these members were elected at the 1967 state election with terms expiring …   Wikipedia

  • Members of the Victorian Legislative Council, 1973–1976 — This is a list of members of the Victorian Legislative Council between 1973 and 1976. As half of the Legislative Council s terms expired at each triennial election, half of these members were elected at the 1970 state election with terms expiring …   Wikipedia

  • Members of the Victorian Legislative Council, 1976–1979 — This is a list of members of the Victorian Legislative Council between 1976 and 1979. As half of the Legislative Council s terms expired at each triennial election, half of these members were elected at the 1973 state election with terms expiring …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”