Arthur William Coles (August 7, 1892 - June 14, 1982), later Sir Arthur Coles, was a prominent Australian businessman and philanthropist. He was born in Geelong, Victoria and educated at the elite private school Geelong College. When World War I began, Coles enlisted as a private, fighting at Gallipoli and on the Western Front in France, and was wounded on three separate occasions before being commissioned as a lieutenant. August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... 1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A businessman (sometimes businesswoman, female; or businessperson, gender neutral) is a generic term for a wide range of people engaged in profit-oriented enterprises, generally the management of a company. ... A philanthropist is someone who devotes his time, money, or effort towards helping others. ... - - Nickname: City by the Bay Geography Area: 1,240 km² Coordinates: Time Zone UTC +10:00 Population (2003) 200,067 Among Australian cities: Density: persons/km² Political Mayor: Shane Dowling Governing body: City of Greater Geelong Geelong is a port city of 200,067 people (2003 census) located on Corio... The Geelong College is a co-educational day and boarding private school located in Geelong, Australia. ... Clockwise from top: Trenches in frontline, a British Mark I Tank crossing a trench, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the battle of the Dardanelles, a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks and a Sopwith Camel biplane. ... Bold text Gallipoli, (Greek: Καλλίπολις) called Gelibolu in modern Turkish, is a town in northwestern Turkey. ...

Coles returned to Australia in 1919 and married Lillian Knight. He joined with two brothers and an uncle to open a variety store in Collingwood, a working-class suburb of Melbourne. Working on the slogan "Nothing over 2/6", the business grew rapidly. The family opened a series of new Coles Variety Stores around the country, Arthur moving to Sydney in 1928 to open and manage the first one in New South Wales. In 1931, at the height of the Great Depression, he returned to Melbourne to become managing director, a post he held until 1944. GJ Coles & Co became the largest retailer in Australia. (Today, the merged Coles-Myer retail empire has around 20% of the entire Australian market.) Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of approximately 3. ... Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ... The Great Depression was a massive global economic recession (or depression) that ran from 1929 to approximately 1939. ...

Coles became Lord Mayor of Melbourne in 1938, remaining in that position until 1940 when he resigned to stand for the federal seat of Henty as an independent. Coles was one of the two independents who held the balance of power through the early years of the Second World War, and crossed the floor in 1941 to remove the hapless UAP-Country Party government of Arthur Fadden and install John Curtin of the Australian Labor Party as Prime Minister of Australia. The Division of Henty was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as the largest and deadliest... The United Australia Party or UAP was an Australian political party that was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia. ... The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. ... Rt Hon Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden (April 13, 1894 – April 21, 1973), Australian politician and 13th Prime Minister of Australia, born at Ingham, Queensland, the son of a Presbyterian police officer. ... John Curtin (January 8, 1885 – July 5, 1945), Australian politician and 14th Prime Minister of Australia, led Australia through the darkest period of its history: when the Australian mainland came under direct military threat during the Japanese advance in World War II. Many Australians regard him as the countrys... The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australias oldest political party. ... The current (25th) Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard (sitting, fifth from left), with his Cabinet, 1999 The office of Prime Minister is in practice the most powerful political office in the Commonwealth of Australia. ...

In 1944, Coles retired from business and devoted himself to public works, becoming the chair of both the Commonwealth Rationing Commission and the War Damage Commission. With the end of the war he resigned from Parliament and became chair of British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (BCPA) and the Australian National Airlines Commission (see TAA). He was appointed chair of the Melbourne Olympic Games Committee in 1952, and a member of the CSIRO Advisory Council in 1956. He was knighted in 1960, and retired in 1965. Sir Arthur Coles died in 1982, leaving three sons and three daughters. Trans Australia Airlines or TAA (IATA TN, renamed Australian Airlines in 1986) was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its sale to Qantas in 1992. ... The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is the national government body for scientific research in Australia. ...