John William Knight was an Australian politician. He represented the Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

 (ACT) in the Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

, for the Liberal Party of Australia

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

, from 1975 until his death in 1981.

John Knight was born in Armidale, New South Wales

Armidale, New South Wales

Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale Dumaresq Shire had a population of 19,485 people according to the 2006 census. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region...

. He gained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England

University of New England (Australia)

The University of New England is an Australian public university with approximately 18,000 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern New South Wales....

 and a Master of Arts from the East–West Center

East–West Center

The East–West Center , headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific and the United States....

, Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, as a Fulbright scholar

Fulbright Program

The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...

. He was Private Secretary to Billy Snedden

Billy Snedden

Sir Billy Mackie Snedden, KCMG, QC was an Australian politician representing the Liberal Party. He was Leader of the Opposition at the 1974 federal election, failing to defeat the Labor incumbent Gough Whitlam.-Early life:...

, then became a diplomat. He was secretary of the ACT Branch of the Liberal Party in 1974-75. In 1975 he was Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University

Australian National University

The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...

.

In 1975, the ACT and the Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

 each became entitled to elect two senators to the Senate, and John Knight (Liberal) and Susan Ryan

Susan Ryan

Susan Maree Ryan AO is an Australian educator who served as a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory 1975–87...

 (Labor

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

) were elected as the ACT's first two senators on 13 December 1975

Australian federal election, 1975

Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election following a double dissolution of both Houses....

. He was re-elected at the 1977 election

Australian federal election, 1977

Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1977. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election....

.

John Knight represented the Commonwealth government at the bicentenary celebrations of Captain James Cook

James Cook

Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...

's arrival in Hawaii, in January 1978. In March 1978 he was appointed the Government Deputy Whip in the Senate.

He was seen as an intelligent and likeable politician who would probably have become a Minister in a Coalition government, however he died suddenly on 4 March 1981 before such ambitions could be realised. The casual vacancy created by his death was filled by Margaret Reid

Margaret Reid

Margaret Elizabeth Reid AO is a former Australian politician. She was the first woman to be President of the Australian Senate.-Early years:...

.

Sources

• Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia, 20th ed, 1978