John Joseph McDonald

Who was John Joseph McDonald?

John Joseph McDonald was Australian Labor Party Member of the Tasmania House of Assembly for the electorate of Bass from 9 June 1934 until his resignation on 16 April 1945. He was the son of James McDonald and the brother of Thomas Raymond McDonald, both also members of the Tasmanian Parliament.

From 1940 to 1943, during World War II, McDonald served in the Australian Army with the 1st Motor Brigade, and was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant.

McDonald, then a bookmaker, was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in 1951 for the manslaughter in Burnie of his then de facto wife Marjorie Holgate. John McDonald was released in April 1956, and then served as a public service clerk in the Public Works Department at Poatina until his death.