Mervyn William Lee 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 Broadford, Victoria

Broadford, Victoria

Broadford is a small town in central Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Broadford had a population of 3,054. The town is the headquarters of the Shire of Mitchell Local Government Area and is approximately north of the state capital, Melbourne....

, he was educated at Kingswood College in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 before becoming a Commonwealth public servant. After serving in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 1941-46, he became a drapery and hardware merchant. In 1966, he was elected to the Australian 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....

 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...

 member for Lalor

Division of Lalor

The Division of Lalor is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the outer western suburbs of Melbourne. It includes the suburbs of Werribee, Point Cook, Laverton, Rockbank and Melton....

, defeating long-serving 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...

 member Reg Pollard

Reg Pollard

Reginald Thomas Pollard was an Australian politician.Pollard was born in Castlemaine, Victoria and educated at Woodend State School, West Melbourne Technical School and Workingmen's College. He worked as an agricultural labourer near Werribee and from 1912 to 1915 as a fitter in Melbourne...

. He held the seat until 1969, when he unsuccessfully attempted to win the nearby seat of Bendigo

Division of Bendigo

The Division of Bendigo is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the city of Bendigo...

.