Frederick McDonald

Frederick McDonald
Member of the Australian Parliament for Barton
In office 16 December 1922 – 14 November 1925
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	Thomas Ley
Personal details
Born	c. 1872
Died	? April 1926[1]
Nationality	British subject (Australian)
Political party	Labor
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Profession	Teacher

Frederick Albert McDonald (c. 1872 – ? April 1926^[1]) was an Australian politician and possible murder victim. Educated at public schools and at the University of Sydney, McDonald became a teacher and rose to become President of the Teachers Federation of New South Wales.^[2] In the 1922 federal election he contested the new seat of Barton for the Labor Party, defeating the Nationalist member for the abolished seat of Illawarra, Hector Lamond.

Disappearance

McDonald remained in parliament until 1925, when he was narrowly defeated by Nationalist candidate Thomas Ley. McDonald challenged the result in court, claiming that Ley had tried to bribe him.^[3] However, on 15 April 1926 McDonald vanished on his way to a meeting with New South Wales Premier Jack Lang, in which he was to have discussed a proposal to have the election result declared void.^[4] Despite an extensive search, neither McDonald's body nor his attache case were ever found.^[5]

Thomas Ley was later deemed insane after committing murder in England, and was committed to Broadmoor Hospital, where he died. It is believed Ley was also responsible for McDonald's disappearance, and the suspicious deaths of other of his political opponents.^[2][3]

References