Henry Zwar

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Henry Zwar
OBE
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
for Heidelberg
In office
14 May 1932 – 3 October 1945
Preceded byGordon Webber
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
Personal details
Born
Henry Peter Zwar

(1873-12-02)2 December 1873
Broadford, Victoria
Died12 January 1959(1959-01-12) (aged 85)
Kew, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Resting placeCoburg Cemetery
Political partyUnited Australia Party
Spouse
Jane Frier Cunningham
​
​
(m. 1898)​
RelationsAlbert Zwar (brother)
OccupationTanner

Henry Peter Zwar, OBE (2 December 1873 – 12 January 1959) was an Australian liberal/conservative politician, local government councillor, local government head, Member of Lower House and tannery owner.

Early life[edit]

Zwar was born in 1873 in Broadford, Victoria, the younger brother of Albert Zwar. His parents, Michael Zwar and Agnes Zimmer, were Sorbs from Bautzen in Saxony, Germany,[1] who had sought asylum after taking part in the 1848 revolution. The British government told them if they emigrated to Australia, they would be treated as British subjects, and they moved to Broadford in 1850.[2]

Political career[edit]

Zwar was elected as a United Australia Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Heidelberg at the 1932 state election. He was re-elected four times for the United Australia Party, and regularly attended and voted in party meetings, though he did not necessarily vote the party line, claiming "conscience as the final court of appeal".[1][3]

The UAP had become the Liberal Party by the 1945 election, at which an electoral redistribution abolished Heidelberg, placing Zwar in the new, notionally Labor seat of Preston, while shifting the more conservative areas of his old electorate to the new seat of Ivanhoe.[4] In October 1945, Zwar announced that he would not be an endorsed Liberal candidate for the forthcoming election and would contest as an Independent Liberal; he also stated that he did not belong to the Liberal Party and paid no party subscription.[5][6] He was defeated by 143 votes by Labor candidate and Victoria Cross holder William Ruthven.[7]

Later life[edit]

Zwar was president of the Preston Football Club from 1926 until 1944, then served as president of the Victorian Football Association from May 1944 until 1947.[8][9]

Zwar died in Kew, Melbourne, Victoria.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Zwar, Albert Michael (1863–1935)". Zwar, Henry Peter. Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  2. ^ "The Zwars celebtate a century". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 4 February 1950. p. 1. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  3. ^ "DECISION REGRETTED BY PREMIER". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 10 October 1945. p. 3. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  4. ^ "LIBERAL WIN EXPECTED IN IVANHOE". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 26 October 1945. p. 8. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  5. ^ "MR CAIN EXPECTS WIN IN PRESTON". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 1 November 1945. p. 5. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  6. ^ "ELECTION SNAPSHOTS". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 9 October 1945. p. 20. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  7. ^ "THE STATE ELECTIONS". Riverine Herald. Echuca, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 22 November 1945. p. 2. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  8. ^ Fiddian, Marc (2004), The VFA: a history of the Victorian Football Association, 1877–1995, p. 99
  9. ^ "New football leader". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 9 May 1944. p. 9.
  10. ^ Woods, Carole. "Zwar, Henry Peter (1873–1959)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for Heidelberg
1932–1945 		District abolished


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