Walter Cooper (Queensland politician)

The Honourable Sir Walter Cooper MBE
Minister for Repatriation
In office 19 December 1949 – 29 December 1960
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Claude Barnard
Succeeded by	Frederick Osborne
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
In office 1 June 1947 – 19 December 1949
Preceded by	George McLeay
Succeeded by	Bill Ashley
Senator for Queensland
In office 1 July 1935 – 30 June 1968
Preceded by	Matthew Reid
Succeeded by	Ron Maunsell
In office 17 November 1928 – 30 June 1932
Preceded by	John MacDonald
Succeeded by	Joe Collings
Personal details
Born	(1888-04-23)23 April 1888 Cheetham, Manchester, England
Died	22 July 1973(1973-07-22) (aged 85) Greenslopes, Queensland, Australia
Political party	Country
Spouse	Dorothy Crick ​ (m. 1918)​

Sir Walter Jackson Cooper, MBE (23 April 1888 – 22 July 1973) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Queensland for over 36 years. He served in the Senate from 1928 to 1932 and 1935 to 1968, representing the Country Party. He was also Minister for Repatriation in the Menzies government from 1949 to 1960.

Early life

Cooper was born on 23 April 1888 in Cheetham, Lancashire, England. He was the son of Sarah (née Jackson) and Joseph Pollitt Cooper; his father was a travelling salesman.

Cooper was educated in England at Bedford School and Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys. He was a reservist in the Leicestershire Yeomanry and the Royal Horse Artillery, before migrating to Australia in 1910. He initially landed in Western Australia and worked his way to Queensland, finding work as an indent agent in Brisbane. In 1913, he was awarded a certificate of merit by the Royal Humane Society of Australasia for his role in rescuing swimmers from dangerous surf at Southport in December 1912.

In 1914, via the land ballot system, Cooper purchased a grazing property of 28,000 acres (11,000 ha) in remote Central West Queensland, adjoining Llanrheidol Station in the locality of Middleton. Naming the property Brackenburgh, he expanded his holdings via the acquisition of neighoburing properties and continued to raise sheep until 1950.

Military career

During World War I, Cooper enlisted in the first Australian Imperial Force and served at Gallipoli and Egypt. In June 1916, he transferred to France and was wounded at the Battle of Mouquet Farm, requiring the amputation of a leg. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1919 and demobilised in 1921. He later joined the Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' Imperial League of Australia (RSL).

Political career

Cooper with Queen Elizabeth II in 1954

Cooper was elected a Senator for Queensland at the 1928 election, representing the Country Party. He was defeated at the 1931 election, his term ending in June 1932. He was re-elected to the Senate at the 1934 election, his new term starting on 1 July 1935. From 1947 to 1949, he was leader of the Opposition in the Senate. Following the election of the Menzies government at the 1949 election, he led the Country Party in the Senate. In 1949, he was appointed Minister for Repatriation and held that position until he resigned from the ministry in 1960. In this position he worked closely with the RSL. He was knighted in 1959 and retired from parliament in June 1968. From 1965 until his retirement, Cooper was the Father of the Senate. He served in the Senate for a total of 36 years, 227 days, making him the longest-serving member of parliament from Queensland, the second-longest-serving senator after George Pearce, and the second-longest-serving Country MP after Earle Page.

Personal life

In 1918, Cooper married Dorothy Crick, the daughter of an English farmer; they had no children. He died at Repatriation General Hospital in the Brisbane suburb of Greenslopes on 22 July 1973, survived by his wife.

In 1931, Cooper received severe injuries to his face and left arm in a motor vehicle accident when he crashed his car into a stationary truck in the Brisbane suburb of Cannon Hill.