Hodgman Family


Thomas Hodgman (Parliament of Tasmania)

Tasmania's first political dynasty began with Thomas Hodgman (1853–1930), who was a member of the House of Assembly from 1900–12. His nephew, WC (Bill) Hodgman QC, OBE (1909–97), was a member of parliament for 21 years (MHA 9 years, MLC 12 years). Bill's sons Michael (b 1938), and Peter (b 1946) have also served, mostly in state parliament: Peter in the Legislative Council (12 years) and House of Assembly (15 years), and Michael in the Legislative Council (8 years) and House of Assembly (8 years), and also in the federal House of Representatives (12 years), where he was Minister for the Capital Territory (1980–83). A vocal proponent for Tasmania, he was nicknamed 'The Mouth from the South'. All three Hodgmans experienced electoral defeat – 1964 (Bill), 1987 and 1998 (Michael), and 2001 (Peter). Bill Hodgman was Council President, Michael a federal minister and Peter a state minister. Michael's son, Will (b 1969), was elected in 2002 and became Liberal leader in 2006.

Stephen Tanner