Rupert Colman Curnow (30 October 1898 – 18 December 1950) was an Australian politician. Born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

to schoolteacher Josiah Curnow and Florence Daws, he attended Ballarat Grammar School and studied medicine before he enlisted in the 8th Light Horse in 1914, serving in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

until 1918, when he was wounded. Through the soldier settler program he became a grazier at

Corryong Corryong is a town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Albury-Wodonga, near the upper reaches of the Murray River and close to the New South Wales border. At the , Corryong had a population of 1,348. The post office opene ...

, and on 16 November 1923 married Eileen Adeline Purcell, with whom he had two children. In 1934 he moved to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, and from 1942 to 1946 was a member of the State Repatriation Board. He was active in the

Returned and Services League The Returned and Services League of Australia, also known as RSL, RSL Australia and the RSLA, is an independent support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. History The League was formed in ...

, serving on the state council (1939–50), the state executive (1941–48), and as vice-president (1945–47). He also served on Upper Murray Shire Council from 1933 to 1935. In 1947 he was elected to 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 ...

as the Liberal member for

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

, serving until 1950, when he died at

References

1898 births 1950 deaths Politicians from Ballarat Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Australian Army soldiers Victoria (state) local councillors 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub