Leonard James Reynolds was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician. Born in Harden, New South Wales

Harden, New South Wales

Harden-Murrumburrah is a township and community in the centre of Harden Shire and is located in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales in Australia and is adjacent to both the Canberra region of the Australian Capital Territory and the Riverina Region in the southwest area of NSW...

, he was educated at state schools before attending the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

. He undertook military service from 1943 to 1946 and was subsequently a teacher and education lecturer. In 1958, he was selected as the Labor

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...

 candidate for the seat of Barton

Division of Barton

The Division of Barton is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1922 and is named for Sir Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia...

, which party leader H. V. Evatt

H. V. Evatt

Herbert Vere Evatt, QC KStJ , was an Australian jurist, politician and writer. He was President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1948–49 and helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

 was leaving as it was perceived to be too marginal. Reynolds won the seat and held it until 1966, when he was defeated by 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 William Arthur

William Arthur (Australian politician)

Sir William Tevlin Arthur was an Australian politician. Born in Sydney, he attended state schools and was on military service from 1941 to 1946. Subsequently he was a journalist, scriptwriter and research officer. He first contested the Australian House of Representatives seat of Barton in 1954,...

. Reynolds defeated Arthur in 1969, and held the seat until his retirement in 1975. He died in 1980.