George McLeay (6 August 1892 – 14 September 1955) was an Australian politician and senior minister in the MenziesLiberal government.
Early life
McLeay was born in Port Clinton, South Australia and educated at Port Clinton Public School until 1906 when he was sent to Adelaide where he continued his education at Unley Public School. At the outbreak of World War I, he was rejected for service in the First Australian Imperial Force and did civilian war work instead. He and his younger brother Jack – who also became a federal politician, as did his son, John – set up as accountants and agents and eventually became wholesale and retail merchants. In October 1924, he married Marcia Doreen Weston.[1]
McLeay was leader of the opposition in the Senate from 1941 until the end of his Senate term in June 1947. He was defeated in the 1946 elections, but re-elected to the Senate in 1949 elections. Robert Menzies appointed him Minister for Shipping and Fuel in 1949; Minister for Shipping, Fuel and Transport in 1950; and Minister for Shipping and Transport in 1951. He energetically negotiated with shipowners and trade unions to improve the performance of the ports.[1] As with other senior federal politicians, a locality on the Trans-Australian Railway was named after him – an isolated crossing loop 118 kilometres (70 miles) west of Port Augusta. In 1954, the Commonwealth Railways mounted his name on a diesel locomotive – NSU class no. 51.[3]
^Hazlehurst, Cameron; Allday, Clare (2004). "McLEAY, George (1892–1955)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
^Barrington, R, Babbage, J 1984: The History of the Pichi Richi Railway Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society Inc., Quorn SA