Sir Stanley Seymour Argyle (1867-1940), premier and medical practitioner, studied medicine at the University of Melbourne and at King’s College, London. Setting up as a general practitioner in Kew, in 1898 he founded the Willsmere Certificated Milk Co., of which he was a director until 1920 As mayor of Kew for two terms in 1903-05; he began agitating for the removal of the Kew Lunatic Asylum. In 1908, soon after he had begun to specialize in X-ray work, he was appointed 'medical electrician and skiagraphist' at the Alfred Hospital; in 1924 he became its director of radiology. During World War I he served as skiagraphist in the 1st Australian General Hospital in Cairo and as consultant radiologist to the Australian Imperial Force in France and England. In 1920 he won Toorak as an independent, opposing government interference with private enterprise, yet supporting policies of development, irrigation, assistance to primary producers, a good milk-supply, voluntary charitable support for hospitals, compulsory health insurance, and scripture-reading in state schools. As chief secretary and minister of health, he faced a police strike in November 1923 and refused to re-employ those whom he described as ‘mutineers’; yet he immediately carried the Police Pensions Act, meeting one of the key grievances of the strikers. Argyle was chief secretary and minister of health for most of the time from late 1924 to late 1929, when he gave up his Alfred Hospital appointment. Knighted on 1 January 1930, later that year he was chosen to lead the Nationalist Party (it became the United Australia Party in 1931, and Argyle was its leader until 1940). Ousting the Labor government of Ned Hogan, he became premier in 1932 and held the post until 1935. Over this period unemployment declined, although many men were paid under-award rates. At the election in 1935, Argyle's United Australia Party lost several seats to the Country Party. Although the two parties had faced the electorate as allies, the Country Party cut a deal with the Labor Party with the effect that Argyle’s government was defeated in the Legislative Assembly. On 2 April 1935 he became leader of the Opposition, holding the post to little effect until he died.
