John Courtenay Chanter

For John Courtenay Chanter's father, John Moore Chanter, a member of the New South Wales and Australian parliaments see John Chanter

Major John Chanter
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Lachlan
In office 25 September 1943 – 29 March 1947
Personal details
Born	John Courtenay Chanter (1881-02-17)17 February 1881 near Rochester, Victoria
Died	23 February 1962(1962-02-23) (aged 81) Lake Cargelligo, New South Wales
Resting place	Lake Cargelligo Cemetery
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Eileen Francis Daicy
Children	2
Occupation	Sawmiller, Farmer
Religion	Anglican
Awards	Distinguished Service Order (1919)
Military service
Allegiance	Commonwealth of Australia
Service/branch	Australian Army
Years of service	unknown, 1914–1918
Rank	Major
Unit	'D'Squadron, NSW Citizen's Bushmen Regiment; Australian Imperial Force, 9th and 4th Light Horse Regiment
Battles/wars	South African War, World War I (Gallipoli and Damascus Campaigns)

John Courtenay Chanter (17 February 1881 – 23 February 1962) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1943 and 1947. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

Early life

Chanter was born in Panoomilloo near Rochester, Victoria and was the son of John Chanter and Mary Anne Clark. His father was a farmer and politician who represented the seats of Murray and Deniliquin in the Legislative Assembly between 1885 and 1901 as a Protectionist. He held ministerial office as the Secretary of Mines in the government of George Dibbs. John Chanter, sr. was also the member for Riverina in the Australian House of Representatives at various times between 1901 and 1922. He was a member of the Protectionist Party until 1909, the Australian Labor Party and, after the Labor Party split of 1916, the Nationalist Party. John Chanter Jr. was educated at the State Primary School Moama. He established a sawmilling business in Barham and a wheat farm in Tongala. In 1927 he moved permanently to New South Wales and became a prominent wheat farmer in Lake Cargelligo . Chanter was involved in local organizations in Tongala and Lake Cargellico including the show societies, Wheatgrowers Union and Freemasons. He was elected to the position of councillor for Deakin Shire in Victoria between 1919 and 1926 and was the shire president in 1925–26. He was also elected to Lachlan Shire Council in New South Wales between 1928 and 1945 and was the president in 1940-1.

Military service

In 1901, Chanter served with the 'D' Squadron, NSW Citizen's Bushmen Regiment during the Second Boer War. He also served with the Light Horse Regiment of the First Australian Imperial Force during the Gallipoli and Damascus campaigns of the First World War. He attained the rank of Major and was awarded the DSO in 1919.^[1]

State Parliament

Chanter was elected to parliament as the Labor member for Lachlan at the September 1943 by-election caused by the death of the incumbent Country Party member Griffith Evans. His victory represented a 10% swing to the governing Labor party in a traditionally conservative area. Chanter defended the seat at the 1944 state election but he was defeated by the Country Party's Robert Medcalf in 1947 . He then retired from public life and resumed farming. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial offices.^[2]

References