Ebenezer Thomas Kendell (31 May 1886 – 7 April 1966) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

 from 1946 until 1950. He was a member of the Country Party

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

.

Early life

Kendell was born at Miniacowie near Minalton

Minlaton, South Australia

Minlaton is a town in central Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. At the 2006 census, Minlaton had a population of 773. It is known as the "Barley capital of the world"....

 on the Yorke Peninsula

Yorke Peninsula

The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located north-west and west of Adelaide in South Australia, Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. It has geographic coordinates of...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

. He was the son of a farmer and was educated to elementary level. He became a wheat farmer in the Wimmera

Wimmera

The Wimmera is a region in the west of the Australian state of Victoria.It covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Australia border and north of the Great Dividing Range...

 district of Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 and served in the First Australian Imperial Force

First Australian Imperial Force

The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...

 in the Middle East and France in World War One. Following repatriation, he was one of a 100 Australian farmers chosen to study irrigation and wheat growing at the University of California

University of California

The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...

. He moved from the Wimmera to Lockhart, New South Wales

Lockhart, New South Wales

Lockhart is a town and a Local Government Area in the Riverina Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the location of the Lockhart Shire Council offices. At the 2006 census, Lockhart had a population of 837 people.-History:...

 in 1927 and became active in community organizations including the Farmers and Settlers Association , the Returned and Services League of Australia

Returned and Services League of Australia

The Returned and Services League of Australia is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force ....

, the Australian Wheat Growers Association, the Hospital Board and the Show Society.

State Parliament

Kendall was the unsuccessful Country Party candidate for the seat of Corowa

Electoral district of Corowa

Corowa was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian state of New South Wales.Created in 1904, it takes its name from town of Corowa. In 1920, Corowa, Albury and Wagga Wagga was absorbed into Murray and elected four members under proportional representation...

 at the state elections of 1938

New South Wales state election, 1938

The 1938 New South Wales state election was held on 26 March 1938. This election was for all of the 90 seats in the 32nd New South Wales Legislative Assembly and was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting....

 and 1944

New South Wales state election, 1944

The 1944 New South Wales state election was held on 27 May 1944. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1940 redistribution...

 . On both occasions he was defeated by the incumbent Independent Country member Christopher Lethbridge

Christopher Lethbridge

Christopher Baron Lethbridge was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1937 and 1946. He was an Independent member of parliament.-Early life:...

. Kendell was elected as the member for Corowa at the 1946 by-election caused by Lethbridge's resignation to contest the federal seat of Riverina

Division of Riverina

The Division of Riverina is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in south-west rural New South Wales, generally following the Murrumbidgee River valley. It includes the cities of Wagga Wagga and Griffith as well as the towns of Junee, West Wyalong, Tumut,...

 at the 1946

Australian federal election, 1946

Federal elections were held in Australia on 28 September 1946. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...

 election. Lethbridge was unsuccessful and then contested the by-election as the Liberal

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 candidate but was beaten by Kendell, who retained the seat at the next election in 1947

New South Wales state election, 1947

The 1947 New South Wales state election was held on 3 May 1947. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1940 redistribution...

. The seat was abolished by a redistribution at the 1950

New South Wales state election, 1950

The 1950 New South Wales State state election was held on 17 June 1950. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1949 redistribution...

 election and Kendell stood as one of two endorsed candidates for the seat of Murray

Electoral district of Murray (New South Wales)

Murray was an electoral district in the Australian state of New South Wales. It was a single-member electorate from 1859 to 1920, but from 1920 to 1927 it was merged with Albury, Corowa and Wagga Wagga to create a three-member electorate, voting by proportional representation. It was recreated as a...

. He was defeated by the incumbent member Joe Lawson

Joe Lawson (politician)

Joseph Alexander Lawson was an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly....

and retired from public life. He did not hold a party, parliamentary or ministerial position.