Hubert Lawrence Anthony

Who was Hubert Lawrence Anthony?

Hubert Lawrence "Larry" Anthony, Australian politician, founded the only three-generation dynasty in the history of the Australian House of Representatives.

Anthony was born in Warren, New South Wales, and had a limited education in bush schools. In 1914 he joined the Australian Army and spent World War I in the Signals Corps, seeing active duty in Gallipoli. He was discharged in 1916 following his return to Australia, where he was initially admitted to the first Auxiliary Hospital suffering from throat disease. After the war he settled at Murwillumbah on the NSW north coast, where he took up banana farming. By the 1930s he was the biggest banana-grower in Australia and chairman of the Banana Growers Federation. This made him an influential figure in the politics of the Northern Rivers region.

In 1937 Anthony was elected to the House of Representatives as Country Party member for the seat of Richmond. As a powerful figure in the party he had rapid promotion. He was an Honorary Minister 1940–1941, and Minister for Transport in 1941. During the years of the wartime Australian Labor Party government, he was a senior member of the Opposition.