Cecil William John (Cec) Burgin (19 May 1923 – 1 November 2003) was an Australian politician. He was a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

from 1970 to 1985, representing the electorate of Polwarth. Burgin was born in

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, and attended Pimpinio State School and the Ballarat School of Mines, where he studied agricultural engineering. He worked on his family's property at Pimpinio after leaving school, but joined the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He trained in

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and

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, attaining the rank of flying officer, and served in India and South East Asia. He became a grazier at

Port Campbell Port Campbell () is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Great Ocean Road, west of the Twelve Apostles, in the Shire of Corangamite. At the , Port Campbell had a population of 478. History The port and the town are named after ...

after the war. He was a

Shire of Heytesbury The Shire of Heytesbury was a Local government in Australia, local government area about west-southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1895 until 199 ...

councillor from 1953 to 1963, including a term as shire president in 1960. Burgin was heavily involved in both his local community and the pastoral industry prior to entering politics. He was an active member of the Timboon Returned and Services League, captain of the local fire brigade, and a member of the local hospital board. In his industry, he was a delegate for the Australian Wool and Meat Producers Federation from 1966 to 1970, chairman of the Australian Prime Lamb Industry Panel until 1970, and chairman of the Victorian Prime Lamb Committee. Burgin was elected to the Legislative Assembly at the 1970 state election, succeeding Tom Darcy in the safely conservative seat. He served on the Road Safety Committee from 1973 to 1979, the State Development Committee from 1979 to 1982, and the Natural Resources and Environment Committee from 1983 to 1985. He retired at the 1985 state election. Burgin died in November 2003 in

Tewantin Tewantin ( ) is a town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. Tewantin was the original settlement in the Noosa region and is one of its three major centres today. In the , the locality of T ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgin, Cecil William John 1923 births 2003 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly 20th-century Australian politicians Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force officers