Sir William John Aston, KCMG

Order of St Michael and St George

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

 (19 September 1916 – 21 May 1997) 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 Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, he attended state schools before becoming an accountant and company director. He served 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...

 from 1942-44, and was involved in local politics as a member of Waverley Council. In 1955, 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 Phillip

Division of Phillip

The Division of Phillip was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was located in the Sydney's eastern suburbs, and was named after Captain Arthur Phillip, captain of the First Fleet and first Governor of New South Wales...

. He held the seat until 1961, when he was defeated by Syd Einfeld

Syd Einfeld

Sydney David "Syd" Einfeld AO was an Australian politician and Jewish leader. Born in Sydney, he was educated at Fort St Boys' High School before becoming a manager of a merchandising company...

 of the 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...

. Aston returned to the House in 1963, defeating Einfeld (who went on to enter the New South Wales State Parliament and to become a State Cabinet Minister); on 21 February 1967 Aston was elected Speaker

Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The presiding officer in the upper house is the President of the Senate....

. He held this position until the Liberal Government's defeat at the hands of Gough Whitlam

Gough Whitlam

Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...

 in 1972, when Aston lost his seat. He died in 1997. His sons included Ray Aston

Ray Aston

Raymond William "Ray" Aston was an Australian politician. He was the Liberal member for Vaucluse in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1986 till his early death....

, the member of the NSW Legislative Assembly who died young in 1988.