John Ackland

Background

Ackland was born in Mitcham, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, to John Barnes Ackland, a warehouse manager, and Edith Ackland (née Randell).

Education

In 1896, the family moved to Western Australia, and he was educated at state schools in East Perth, Claremont and Northam before attending Scotch College.

Career

He obtained work as a jackaroo for Thomas Wilding at Mokine in 1906–1908, and from then on farmed at family properties. In 1910, he selected land at Lake Ninan near Wongan Hills, which became productive. With the onset of the First World War, Ackland was enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force on 16 August 1916, and served in France as a private with the 28th Battalion, although acted as a Corporal and Lance Corporal at various times.

He was wounded in battle on 5 June 1918, and was on secondment to the Agent-General for Western Australia"s office in London prior to discharge on 25 November 1919.

After his war service, Ackland returned to Lake Ninan, and became a Justice of the Peace in 1922 and was elected to the Melbourne Road Board the following year. In 1927, he became its chairman, a position he would hold until 1940.

From 1940 to 1945, he served as a Captain in the Volunteer Defence Corps. He retained the seat three years later when it was renamed Moore.

He represented the Western Australian branch at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at its general conference in Ottawa, Canada, in 1982.

Achievements

• Shortly after his return to civilian life, Ackland contested the seat of Irwin-Moore in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the Country Party at the 1947 election, and won against the incumbent Independent member Horace Berry.

Membership

He was also a member of the Royal Agricultural Show Council, was vice-president of the Wheat Section of the Primary Producers Association (associated with the Country Party) and was an early director of Company-operative Bulk Handling. He served on several Select Committees, including one into the agricultural practices of Eric Fairleigh in 1951, and the uniformity of liquid fuel prices in 1956. He also became a member of the Joint House Committee in 1956.