The influence of Queensland in the Menzies government 1949-1966

Dr Donald Cameron – Health Minister (defeated in the seat of Oxley in 1961)

Sir Reginald Swartz – Minister for Repatriation.

Sir Charles Barnes – Minister for Territories.

Dame Annabelle Rankin – Minister for Housing and first woman to hold an actual portfolio

To this impressive list can be added, in terms of influence, George Pearce, Member for Capricornia, who was Government Whip until his defeat at the 1961 election. And another influential figure was Senator Bob Sherrington (who was the cricketer Ian Healy's grandfather) who was Liberal Party State President in the latter years of the Menzies Government.

I do not even include in this significant list a group of influential backbenchers. Jim Killen himself was one of the best orators in the Parliament, but he did not achieve ministerial rank until John Gorton became Prime Minister. And Senator Ian Wood who represented Queensland from 1949 was one of the leading "rebels" in the Senate voting against the government on numerous occasions!

But when discussing those who served as senior ministers, Jim observed that even though he rebelled in a number of occasions, and Ian Wood did on many occasions, the stand out features of the ministers was their absolute loyalty to Menzies, and Country Party Leaders Fadden and Sir John McEwen.

He recalled that never once did he hear talk of moves against any of the leaders of the coalition by the Queensland ministers and members.

During the long period of the Menzies Government Queensland generally supported the coalition – with the notable exception of the 1961 election when Hulme, Cameron, Pearce and a number of backbenchers lost their seats. Jim Killen himself just held Moreton, enabling the coalition to govern with a one seat majority!

It is a pity that the enormous contribution by Queenslanders to a wonderful period in Australian politics, and the high water mark for the Liberal and Country Parties in the post-war period is not more widely appreciated.

Underpinning the success of the Queensland team was the effective organisational wings of both parties. Sir Charles Porter was Liberal Party State Director from 1949 until 1966 and was a close confidant of Menzies. For much of the same period the State Secretary of the Country Party was Colonel Neville Hatton.

The success of the federal coalition in Queensland was all the more remarkable given the dominance of the State Labor Government until the great Labor split in 1957. Until then the Hanlon and Gair Governments dominated the state political scene.