# Gilbert Chandler
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{{Short description|Australian politician (1903–1974)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = Sir
| name = Gilbert Chandler
| honorific_suffix = [KBE](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire), [CMG](/source/Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George)
| image =
| order = Leader of the Government in the [Victorian Legislative Council](/source/Victorian_Legislative_Council)
| term_start = 1962
| term_end = 1973
| deputy =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| order2 = [Minister of Agriculture](/source/Agriculture_ministry)
| term_start2 = June 1955
| term_end2 = May 1973
| deputy2 =
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 =
| birth_name = Gilbert Lawrence Chandler
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1903|8|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = [North Melbourne, Victoria](/source/North_Melbourne%2C_Victoria), Australia
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|4|8|1903|8|29|df=y}}
| death_place = [Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria](/source/Upper_Ferntree_Gully%2C_Victoria), Australia
| alma_mater =
| constituency =
| party = [United Australia Party](/source/United_Australia_Party) (1935–43)
[Liberal Party](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Australia_(Victorian_Division)) (1943–73)
| spouse = Thelma Alice Coon (m. 1930)
| profession = Horticulturalist
| signature =
| footnotes =
| website =
| module = {{Infobox AFL biography
| embed = yes
| image =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height = 183 cm
| weight = 81 kg
| position =
| statsend = 1928
| years1 = 1928
| club1 = {{AFL Haw}}
| games_goals1 = 1 (0)
| careerhighlights =
}}
}}
'''Sir Gilbert Lawrence Chandler''' [KBE](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire), [CMG](/source/Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George) (29 August 1903 – 8 April 1974) was a [Liberal Party](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Australia_(Victorian_Division)) [politician](/source/politician) who served in the [Bolte Ministry](/source/Bolte_Ministry) in [Victoria](/source/Victoria_(Australia)).
Chandler, a [horticulturist](/source/horticulturist), was educated at [Scotch College](/source/Scotch_College%2C_Melbourne) in Melbourne. As a 25-year-old, Chandler played a game for the [Hawthorn Football Club](/source/Hawthorn_Football_Club) in the [1928 VFL season](/source/1928_VFL_season).[{{cite web|url=https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/G/Gil_Chandler.html| title=Gil Chandler| publisher=AFL Tables |access-date=26 July 2025}}] He became a partner in his family's nursery at [The Basin](/source/The_Basin%2C_Victoria) in Bayswater before following his father, Alfred, into politics.
When Alfred Chandler died in 1935, Gilbert won the subsequent by-election and took his place as the [United Australia Party](/source/United_Australia_Party) representative for Southern Province in the [Victorian Legislative Council](/source/Victorian_Legislative_Council).[{{Cite Parliament of Victoria Member Profile |name=Sir Gilbert Lawrence Chandler |id=gilbert-chandler |access-date=26 July 2025}}] In 1935, Chandler also joined the [Fern Tree Gully](/source/Ferntree_Gully%2C_Victoria) Shire Council, and served as its president in 1938 and 1939. He switched to the [Liberal Party](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Australia_(Victorian_Division)) in 1943.
Chandler was minister without portfolio from 1943 to 1945 and as the chairman of the Bush Fire Relief committee from 1944 until 1946. When [Henry Bolte](/source/Henry_Bolte) became premier in 1955, he wanted Chandler as the Education Minister, but due to Chandler's horticultural background, Chandler requested to be Minister of Agriculture.[{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |title=Chandler, Sir Gilbert Lawrence (1903–1974) | id2=chandler-sir-gilbert-lawrence-9723 |volume=13 |access-date=26 July 2025}}] The son-in-law of former politician [Jabez Coon](/source/Jabez_Coon), he served in that position until he retired from parliament in 1973.
Chandler was the Minister of State Development, Decentralisation and [Minister of Immigration](/source/Minister_of_Immigration_(Victoria)) briefly in 1956. In 1962, he was appointed as the leader of the Legislative Council, having been deputy-leader since 1955. Due to his sporting history, Chandler was a member of the [1956 Summer Olympics](/source/1956_Summer_Olympics) organising committee. He later served as chairman of the [Melbourne Cricket Ground](/source/Melbourne_Cricket_Ground) in 1973 and 1974.[{{Cite web |url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/re-member/bioregfull.cfm?mid=957 |title=Chandler, Sir Gilbert Lawrence |access-date=17 April 2010 |archive-date=25 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225021931/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/re-member/bioregfull.cfm?mid=957 |url-status=bot: unknown }}]
Chandler died of a [coronary occlusion](/source/coronary_occlusion) in 1974, at the William Angliss Hospital, which he had been co-founder and president of since 1939.[ An agricultural college called the [Gilbert Chandler Institute of Dairy Technology](/source/Gilbert_Chandler_College) at Werribee was named after him.
==References==
{{reflist|1}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au-vic-lc}}
{{s-bef|before=[Alfred Chandler](/source/Alfred_Chandler_(politician))}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [South Eastern Province](/source/South_Eastern_Province)|years=1935–1937|alongside=[William Tyner](/source/William_Tyner)}}
{{s-aft|after=[Charles Gartside](/source/Charles_Gartside)}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[Russell Clarke](/source/Russell_Clarke)}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [Southern Province](/source/Southern_Province_(Victoria))|years=1937–1967|alongside=[William Angliss](/source/William_Angliss) (until 1952)]
[Roy Rawson](/source/Roy_Rawson) (1952–58)
[Raymond Garrett](/source/Raymond_Garrett) (from 1958)}}
{{s-non|reason=Province abolished}}
|-
{{s-non|reason=Province created}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [Boronia Province](/source/Boronia_Province)|years=1967–1973|alongside=[Vernon Hauser](/source/Vernon_Hauser) (from 1970)}}
{{s-aft|after=[Peter Block](/source/Peter_Block_(politician))}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Gilbert}}
Category:1903 births
Category:1974 deaths
Category:Australian horticulturists
Category:United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Victoria
Category:Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria
Category:Members of the Victorian Legislative Council
Category:Vice-presidents of the Board of Land and Works
Category:Australian rules footballers from Melbourne
Category:Hawthorn Football Club players
Category:Australian sportsperson-politicians
Category:Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Category:20th-century Australian botanists
Category:People from North Melbourne
Category:People from Boronia, Victoria
Category:People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne
Category:Ministers for agriculture (Victoria)
Category:Ministers for forests (Victoria)
Category:Ministers of immigration (Victoria)
Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gilbert Chandler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Chandler) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Chandler?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.