John Dedman : a most unexpected labor man

Andrew D. Spaull
South Melbourne : Hyland House, 1998

ISBN: 1864470607

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Book description
This is a study of the political life of John Dedman, a senior and controversial member of the Labor governments of the 1940s.
A Scot, Dedman saw action as an army officer before coming to Australia in 1922. He immersed himself in farming and bush life as a leading member of a shire council, a farmers' union, the RSL and the Kirk. He joined the Country Party, but unemployed during the Depression, he spoke for the Labor Party. In 1940 he won Corio. John Curtin appointed him Minister for War Organisation of Industry, a key portfolio in wartime. Dedman carried out his duties with such dedication that 'Dedmanism' became a popular term of disparagement. Later, as Minister for Post War Reconstruction, Dedman was responsible for major initiatives in national works, trade, industrial training, higher education. He came to be seen as a future Labor leader.
At the 1949 election, Dedman narrowly lost Corio and disappeared from public life.

About the author
Andrew D. Spaull, Monash University.

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