Dudley Erwin

The Honourable Dudley Erwin
Member of the Australian Parliament for Ballaarat
In office 10 December 1955 – 11 November 1975
Preceded by	Robert Joshua
Succeeded by	Jim Short
Personal details
Born	20 August 1917(1917-08-20)
Died	29 October 1984(1984-10-29) (aged 67)
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Spouse(s)	Gwenda
Occupation	Radio engineer, hotelier

(George) Dudley Erwin (20 August 1917 – 29 October 1984) was an Australian politician and briefly Minister for Air.^[1]

During World War II, Erwin served as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Australian Air Force as a navigator in No. 31 Squadron and was involved in the South West Pacific. Prior to enter politics, he was an electrical radio engineer and a farmer. He also became a successful hotel-owner in Ballarat.^[2]

Erwin was elected for the Liberal Party as the member of the House of Representatives seat of Ballaarat at the 1955 election. He was Government Whip from February 1967 to February 1969 and strongly supported John Gorton's election as Liberal leader following the disappearance and presumed drowning of Prime Minister Harold Holt on 17 December 1967. On 13 February 1969 he was appointed Minister for Air, in the reshuffle following Paul Hasluck's appointment as Governor-General. Gorton subsequently appointed one of his young staffers, Ainsley Gotto as private secretary and came to rely on her for political advice. In November 1969, Erwin was left out of Gorton's second ministry.^[3] Erwin's explanation for his dismissal was:

It's shapely, it wiggles and its name is Ainsley Gotto."^[4]

Erwin chaired the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary and Government Publications, which produced the first edition of the Australian Government Style Manual.^[2] He retired from parliament prior to the 1975 election. He died of a heart attack and was survived by his wife, Gwenda and three children.^[5][6]

Notes

1. ^ "Members of the House of Representatives since 1901". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20071117114003/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/handbook/historical/representatives/courtnay.forrest.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-27. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Peacock, Andrew (21 February 1985). "Deaths of The Hon G D Erwin, The Hon Sir William Haworth and Mr L H Irwin". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=359926&TABLE=HANSARDR. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
3. ^ Hawke, Bob (21 February 1985). "Deaths of The Hon G D Erwin, The Hon Sir William Haworth and Mr L H Irwin". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=359922&TABLE=HANSARDR. Retrieved 2008-01-27. 
4. ^ "Obituary: Larger-than-life nationalist". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 May 2002. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/19/1021801642162.html. Retrieved 2008-01-27. 
5. ^ Sinclair, Ian (21 February 1985). "Deaths of The Hon G D Erwin, The Hon Sir William Haworth and Mr L H Irwin". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=359930&TABLE=HANSARDR. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
6. ^ Cohen, Barry (21 February 1985). "Deaths of The Hon G D Erwin, The Hon Sir William Haworth and Mr L H Irwin". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=359942&TABLE=HANSARDR. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 

Political offices
Preceded by Gordon Freeth	Minister for Air 1969	Succeeded by Tom Drake-Brockman
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Robert Joshua	Member for Ballaarat 1955 – 1975	Succeeded by Jim Short

Persondata
Name	Erwin, George Dudley
Alternative names	Erwin, Dudley
Short description	Australian politician
Date of birth	20 August 1917
Place of birth
Date of death	29 October 1984
Place of death