Boyd Dawkins

Hon. M.B. Dawkins MBE
Member of the South Australian Legislative Council
In office
March 1962 – November 1982
Personal details
BornMaynard Boyd Dawkins
(1917-01-02)2 January 1917
Stirling, South Australia
Died21 October 1996(1996-10-21) (aged 79)
Adelaide, South Australia
Resting placeGawler River, South Australia
PartyLiberal and Country League
Spouse
Constance Lilian Wilkinson
​
​
(m. 1943)​
RelationsJohn Sydney Dawkins (cousin)
ChildrenJohn Samuel Letts Dawkins
OccupationFarmer and politician

Maynard Boyd Dawkins MBE (2 January 1917 – 21 October 1996)[1] was a classically trained musician, sheep breeder and Liberal politician in the State of South Australia.

History

Dawkins was born in Stirling West, the only son of Albert Maynard Dawkins of Gawler River and his wife Mary (née Yeoman).[2] The Dawkins family were early settlers of Gawler and were well known in the area.[3]

He studied at Roseworthy Agricultural College[4], following in the footsteps of his father who was part of the first intake of students at Roseworthy in 1885 and also later chairman of the college's Governing Council[5]. Dawkins was, like fellow parliamentarian Leslie Rupert Hart, a breeder of Dorset Horns and was also a respected judge of British Breed sheep.

Following the outbreak of WWII, Dawkins joined the Army and undertook initial training at Warradale, before having to return to the farm due to his father's poor health. In 1943, Dawkins married Constance Wilkinson in her local Berri Methodist Church[6]. In the same year, he took over management of the farm and later changed the name of both the property and its sheep stud from 'Euro Gardens' to 'Leamington', named for Leamington Spa in Warwickshire from which the Dawkins family migrated to South Australia in 1839.

Dawkins was elected as the councillor for Gawler River Ward in the District Council of Mudla Wirra in 1954 and held that position until 1968, serving as chairman in 1965-67.[7]

He was president of the Gawler Men's Branch of the Liberal and Country League,[8] and was a successful Liberal candidate for a Midland seat on the Legislative Council in March 1962. He made the transition to the new Legislative Council in July 1975 when, by the Act of 1973, the State reverted to voting as one electorate, with proportional representation. He retired in November 1982.

A significant legacy of Dawkins' time in Parliament was as one of the earliest advocates for treated wastewater from Bolivar being utilised for irrigation and, subsequently, the substantial growth of horticultural industries on the Adelaide Plains.[9]

Late in his political career, Dawkins was also proud to serve as the inaugural president of the SA Parliamentary Christian Fellowship, a bipartisan and non-denominational association he established in 1982 with Labor MP Lynn Arnold[10].

Boyd Dawkins was a renowned choirmaster and vocalist.

Other interests

Following family traditions, Dawkins was a teetotaller, an active member of the Band of Hope and a Methodist lay preacher.[11] Dawkins' father was also a long-time lay preacher, while his maternal grandfather, Rev Richard Carylon Yeoman, was an ordained Minister from Cornwall who served Bible Christian and Methodist Church circuits across SA's northern areas[12]. Dawkins was also an avowed constitutional monarchist.

Dawkins was a fine bass-baritone and was a member of the Adelaide Philharmonic Choir, having studied under Clifford Lathlean[13]. He ultimately earned a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (L.R.S.M.), an advanced professional diploma, from the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide[14]. He was also a great promoter of choral music, serving as the long-term leader and conductor of the highly regarded Gawler-Barossa Oratorio Choir[15] and, from 1964, as the founding President of the South Australian Country Choral Association for 27 years. He was a regular bass soloist with the ABC for 15 vears, and appeared with both the Adelaide and West Australia svmphony orchestras.

Boyd Dawkins with a 'Leamington' Dorset Horn ram.

In 1983, Dawkins was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his services to music and the community[16].

In his later years, Dawkins continued his active interest in his family's farming and stud breeding pursuits. He also maintained his commitment to the Liberal Party, particularly the local Gawler branches and the party's Rural Council. In addition, he continued his life-long interest in cricket and support for the Norwood Football Club[17].

Personal

He married Constance Lilian Wilkinson on 24 August 1943.[18] They subsequently had two sons, Ross (born in 1946) and John (1954)[19]. John followed his father as a member of the Legislative Council from 1997 until 2022. On 8 September 2020, John was elected President of the Legislative Council, serving until 19 March 2022.[20]

A Dawkins family relative, John Sydney Dawkins, was a politician representing the Australian Labor Party and served as Federal Treasurer from 1991 to 1993.[21] John Sydney Dawkins' father, Alec Letts Dawkins[22], was the first cousin of Maynard Boyd Dawkins.

References

  1. ↑ "Hon Maynard (Boyd) Boyd Dawkins MBE". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "Family Notices". South Australian Register. 26 October 1900. p. 4. Retrieved 19 December 2014 – via Trove.
  3. ↑ "Cricket". Bunyip. 5 January 1934. p. 6. Retrieved 19 December 2014 – via Trove.
  4. ↑ "Roseworthy College Scholarships". Bunyip. 10 March 1933. p. 4. Retrieved 19 December 2014 – via Trove.
  5. ↑ The-First-Roseworthy-Diploma-in-Agriculture-Graduates-Historic_Record.pdf
  6. ↑ "Boyd Dawkins obituary 1996". 2026.
  7. ↑ "Gawler History - Boyd Dawkins".
  8. ↑ "Local Men's L.C.L Branch Revived". Bunyip. 5 June 1953. p. 7. Retrieved 19 December 2014 – via Trove.
  9. ↑ "Dawkins Boyd - Gawler History". gawlerhistory.com. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "South Australian Parliamentary Christian Fellowship - Hansard".
  11. ↑ "Out Among the People". The Advertiser. 5 May 1944. p. 6. Retrieved 19 December 2014 – via Trove.
  12. ↑ Australian Christian Commonwealth (SA : 1901 - 1940), Friday 27 April 1923, page 14
  13. ↑ "Musical Notes". The Mail. 16 December 1939. p. 2. Retrieved 19 December 2014 – via Trove.
  14. ↑ Pearson, Gillian (1987). "Boyd Dawkins Oral History interview recording".
  15. ↑ "Choral Society presents "The Crucifixion"". Bunyip. 30 March 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 19 December 2014 – via Trove.
  16. ↑ "1983 New Year Honours List (The Canberra Times)" (PDF).
  17. ↑ "Boyd Dawkins obituary (1996)".
  18. ↑ "Family Notices". Murray Pioneer. Renmark, SA. 7 October 1943. p. 9. Retrieved 19 December 2014 – via Trove.
  19. ↑ "Family Notices". The Advertiser. 6 July 1954. p. 20. Retrieved 19 December 2014 – via Trove.
  20. ↑ "Dawkins, John". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  21. ↑ "John Dawkins - Member for Fremantle 1977-1993". john.curtin.edu.au. 18 December 2006. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "Alec Letts Dawkins OBE".
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