Reg Bishop

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable

| name = Reg Bishop

| honorific-suffix = AO

| image = Reg Bishop 1974 (cropped).jpg

| caption = Official portrait, 1974

| office = Postmaster-General of Australia

| primeminister = Gough Whitlam

| term_start = 12 June 1974

| term_end = 11 November 1975

| predecessor = Lionel Bowen

| successor = Peter Nixon

| office2 = Minister for Repatriation

| primeminister2 = Gough Whitlam

| term_start2 = 19 December 1972

| term_end2 = 12 June 1974

| predecessor2 = Lance Barnard

| successor2 = John Wheeldon

| title3 = Senator for South Australia

| term_start3 = 1 July 1962

| term_end3 = 30 June 1981

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1913|2|4}}

| birth_place = Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1999|7|3|1913|2|4}}

| death_place = Daw Park, South Australia, Australia

| spouse =

| party = Labor

| relations =

| children =

| residence =

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}}

Reginald Bishop AO (4 February 1913 – 3 July 1999) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for South Australia from 1962 to 1981. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and held office in the Whitlam government as Minister for Repatriation (1972–1974) and Postmaster-General (1974–1975).

Early life

Bishop was born in Adelaide and left school at fifteen and became a clerk in the South Australian Railways at the Islington Railway Workshops. He was an official of the Australian Railways Union from 1937 until 1956 and Secretary of the South Australian Trades and Labour Council from 1956 until 1962. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II and served from February 1943 until January 1946 in Darwin and Borneo.{{cite web

| title =Members of the House of Representatives since 1901

| publisher =Parliament of Australia

| work=Parliamentary Handbook

| url =http://www.aph.gov.au/library/handbook/historical/senate/abbott.cormack.htm

| access-date = 20 November 2007 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070906191356/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/handbook/historical/senate/abbott.cormack.htm |archivedate = 6 September 2007}}

Politics

File:RegBishop1963 (cropped).jpg

Bishop was an Australian Labor Party Senator for South Australia from the 1961 elections until his retirement in June 1981. After the election of the Whitlam government at the 1972 elections, he was Minister for Repatriation and Minister assisting the Minister for Defence. From June 1974, he was the second last Postmaster-General and oversaw the creation of Telecom and Australia Post as statutory authorities, replacing the former Postmaster-General's Department. He also implemented the introduction of FM radio and the abolition of television and radio licence fees.{{Cite Au Senate |Sen id=bishop-reginald |name=BISHOP, Reginald (1913–1999) |first=Gwynneth |last=Singleton |access-date=29 November 2022}}{{cite web