Political Dynasty: Anthony

The Anthony family is Australia’s oldest continuous political dynasty. Over nearly seventy years three generations of Anthony's have held the federal seat of Richmond in northern New South Wales, each serving as government ministers. But the patriarch and Gallipoli veteran Larry senior would not recognize the electorate he once represented. This is the story of how one family has weathered dramatic changes in Australian rural life … changes which have ultimately cost them their political birthright.

In this episode of Dynasties we chart the three generations of Anthonys: the patriarch Larry Anthony who served as a minister under Menzies, his son Doug the former deputy prime minister, and his son Larry, a minister in the Howard government.

Larry Senior was a Gallipoli veteran and impoverished banana farmer. He rose from telegraph boy to Post Master General. His son Doug ran a dairy farm and rose to the highest positions in the land. As acting prime minister he ran the country from the family’s beachside summer caravan. Larry Junior is now also a government minister. But in a sign of the times he’s not in charge of a rural portfolio, he’s minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Richmond is a marginal seat, transformed by the seachange movement and the decline of traditional rural industries. We follow Larry Anthony as he fights for the dynasty’s political future in the federal election. 

Dynasties reveals how this distinguished family has coped with life in the public spotlight. Doug’s wife Margot is the family matriarch. She has brought a softer and cultured dimension to the family. As Doug’s confidante she has lived through many of the dramas of Australian politics, from the dismissal of Whitlam to facing the wrath of disgruntled farmers. When she married Doug she had little idea of what lay ahead. Her husband was an accidental politician. Never intending to run for public office, he was talked into it after his father died prematurely.

In the public world of politics it is perhaps harder than anywhere else to be walking in the shadows of your father. In this episode we see how the Anthony’s have dealt with this test. It’s the challenge of creating your own identity, holding to old principles, but also adapting to a changing world.

With the Anthonys we go behind the scenes of a family immersed in public life. Doug remembers staying with his father in Canberra and having bedtime stories read to him by John Curtin. Larry and his siblings speak frankly of his ambitions and his struggle to create a new identity.

But through all the turmoil and intensity of public life, the Anthony family have survived intact and still manage to live as ordinary Australians.

Hubert Lawrence Anthony (1897-1957)

In 1940 he was appointed minister for commerce in the government of Robert Menzies, and in 1941 was appointed minister for transport, the same year that Jessie died suddenly. When the Curtin government came to power Larry Anthony earned a reputation as a pugnacious parliamentary debater. In 1946 he married a 25 year old widow, Lyndall Marion. In 1949 the former telegraph messenger boy was appointed Postmaster General in the Menzies government.

In 1951 he added the portfolio of civil aviation to his ministerial duties and presided over the rapid expansion of Australia's air services, actively encouraging the two-airline policy whereby the major domestic routes were shared between a private airline and the government owned TAA. It was a policy he also followed in the introduction of television to Australia, insisting on a dual system of private and public networks.

In the early '50's Larry Anthony suffered poor health and resigned from the civil aviation portfolio in 1954. He resigned from the ministry in 1956 and died the following year.

John Douglas Anthony

Doug Anthony served in six governments and, as leader of his party (the youngest ever elected), served with seven different leaders of the Liberal Party (as he said once, every time he got up on the floor to dance he found he had a new partner).

He was an MP for more than 26 years, served 16 years as a minister, four years as Deputy Leader of his party and almost 13 years as Leader - six weeks longer than Sir John McEwen, whom he succeeded. His ministerial portfolios included Interior (1964-67), Primary Industry (1967-71), Trade and Industry (1971-72), Overseas Trade (1975-77), National Resources (1975-77), Trade and Resources (1977-83). He was Deputy Prime Minister from 1971-72, and from 1975-83.

Doug Anthony acted formally as Prime Minister for approximately 25 periods ranging from days to months, and informally on many more.

Lawrence James Anthony

After unsuccessfully contesting the seat of Richmond in 1993, Larry won it from the Labor Party in 1996, and won it in the two following elections. He was appointed The Nationals' Whip in 1997 and Parliamentary Secretary for Trade the following year. He became Minister for Community Services in 1999 and Australia's first Minister for Children and Youth Affairs following the 2001 election.

Although Larry achieved his strongest primary vote in the 2004 election, he was defeated on preferences and said he would not contest the seat of Richmond again.