William Everett Sykes (born 3 October 1948) is an Australian politician. He was the Nationals member of the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

parliament, representing

Benalla Benalla is a small city in the Hume (region), Hume region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The town sits on the Broken River (Victoria), Broken River, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. As of the , the population wa ...

, from 2002 to 2014, after a career as a veterinarian and businessman. Sykes was also a

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL) footballer, playing 48 games of football for Fitzroy, and later coaching

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

and Benalla & District junior football teams. As well as being a member of parliament, Sykes and his wife Sally also run a beef cattle and sheep property just out of Benalla. Together, the Sykes have been involved in a wide range of community activities including school councils, youth groups, sporting clubs, Landcare, fire brigade and the

Victorian Farmers Federation The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is an Australian non-profit membership based advocacy and lobby group that represents farmers in Victoria. The organisation represents its members in lobbying state and federal government on policy matters t ...

. Sykes was also instrumental in the establishment of the Benalla Trust Foundation, a trust to assist local people in times of crisis, and the Benalla Young Sportspersons Trust, a trust that assists promising young athletes to compete in interstate and overseas competitions. When former Nationals leader and deputy premier Pat McNamara retired from politics in 2000, Sykes ran as the Nationals' candidate in the ensuring

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. On paper, Sykes had a significant advantage. Benalla was one of the most conservative seats in Victoria; it had been in National hands for all but nine years since 1920 and without interruption since 1943. However, in a major upset,

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Denise Allen Denise Margaret Allen (29 March 1953 – 22 January 2022) was an Australian politician, political strategist, social commentator and disability advocate. Life and career Allen was born on 29 March 1953 in Alexandra, Victoria, to Jack Donald B ...

narrowly defeated Sykes to become the first Labor member ever to win the seat. Labor was re-elected in a landslide in the 2002 election, yet Sykes won Benalla back with only 26% of the primary vote to give a 52% two party preferred vote over Allen. He won the seat on the third count when

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

candidate Andrew Dwyer's preferences flowed overwhelmingly to him. The seat reverted to form at the 2006 state election, and Sykes held the seat without serious difficulty until his retirement in 2014.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, Bill 1948 births Living people Australian sportsperson-politicians National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Fitzroy Football Club players Shepparton Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian sportsmen