Biography

Graham was born in Narrogin, Western Australia

Narrogin, Western Australia

Narrogin is a large town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth on the Great Southern Highway between Pingelly and Wagin...

 on 6 April 1911 to parents from 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...

. Graham attended school in Narrogin and Northam

Northam, Western Australia

Northam is a town in Western Australia, situated at the confluence of the Avon and Mortlock Rivers, about north-east of Perth in the Avon Valley. At the 2006 census, Northam had a population of 6,009. Northam is the largest town in the Avon region...

.

His father, farmer William Graham, was a candidate for the Western Australian Legislative Council

Western Australian Legislative Council

The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the Legislative Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state...

 in the 1912 Legislative Council election. He later unsuccessfully stood for the Australian Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

 in 1919

Australian federal election, 1919

Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1919. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes defeated the opposition Australian...

, finishing with only 2% of the Western Australian vote.

His nephew, Larry Graham later represented the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 in the Western Australian Parliament from 1989.

Working life

In 1928 Graham joined the Western Australian Government Department of Lands and Surveys as a cadet draftsman. In the mid-1930s he joined the Department of Forests.

Early politics

After joining the Australian Labor Party in 1929 he soon became heavily involved in politics. By 1933 he was a member of the ALP state executive. In 1934

Australian federal election, 1934

Federal elections were held in Australia on 15 September 1934. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent United Australia Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons with coalition partner the Country Party led...

 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 seat of Perth

Division of Perth

The Division of Perth is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Western Australia. It is named after Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, where the Division is located...

. In 1940

Australian federal election, 1940

Federal elections were held in Australia on 21 September 1940. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...

 he was a candidate for the Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

 though he only garnered 2% of the Western Australian vote, the same percentage as his father in 1919.

Entry to Parliament

In 1943 Graham was elected to the seat of East Perth

Electoral district of East Perth

East Perth was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1890 to 1962.Based in inner urban Perth, the district was one of the original 30 seats contested at the 1890 state election. The district's member from 1894 to 1904 was Walter James,...

 in a by-election caused by the resignation of Tom Hughes

Thomas Hughes (Australian politician)

Thomas John Hughes , sometimes known as Diver Hughes, was an Australian politician, and a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly representing the seat of East Perth for two periods; from 1922 until 1927, and again from 1936 until 1943.-Biography:Hughes was born in South Melbourne,...

.

With the election of the Hawke

Albert Hawke

Albert Redvers George Hawke was the 18th Premier of Western Australia.Hawke was born to James Renfrey Hawke and Eliza Ann Blinman Pascoe, both of Cornish descent, in Kapunda, South Australia...

 Labor government in 1953 Graham became a Cabinet minister with responsibilities for the portfolios of housing and forests. As housing minister Graham was responsible for an increase in the number of state-owned residential properties. An apartment complex, Graham Flats in West Perth, built while he was housing minister, was named in his honour. In 1957 Graham took on responsibility for transport, presiding over the implementation of an integrated bus system.

Between 1959 and 1971 Graham served the ALP in opposition, rising to deputy opposition leader in 1966. When the Tonkin

John Tonkin

John Trezise Tonkin AC , popularly known as "Honest John", was the 20th Premier of Western Australia , taking power after the almost 12 year term of Liberal Sir David Brand....

 government took power in 1971 Graham became Deputy Premier. He took on responsibility for town planning between 1971 and 1973.

In 1973 after a series of disagreements with Tonkin, Graham resigned from Parliament. In the by-election that followed, Brian Burke

Brian Burke

Brian Thomas Burke was Labor premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 until his resignation on 25 February 1988...

 was elected by thirty votes.

Civic life

After leaving Parliament Graham was appointed chairman of the state Licensing Court.

A fluent Italian-speaker, Graham was involved in the Western Australia Italian Club, becoming a life member of the club. He was honoured by the Italian government with an Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...

.

He was a patron of the East Perth Football Club

East Perth Football Club

The East Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Royals, is an Australian rules football club that is a member of the West Australian Football League...

and was a life member.