Bernard Francis Kilgariff AM (30 September 1923 – 13 April 2010) was an Australian politician. He was one of the founders of the

Country Liberal Party The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP) is a centre-right political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In local politics it operates in a two-party system with the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It also contests federal ...

and served as a member of the

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Northern Territory of Australia. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member electorates for four-year terms. The voting method fo ...

which included a stint as Deputy Majority Leader. He was elected to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

in 1975, and initially sat with the

National Country Party The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a fe ...

until 1979, before sitting with the

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

for the rest of his federal political career.

Early life

Kilgariff was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, and in 1929 arrived in

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

(then called Stuart) with his family on one of the first Ghan trains from Adelaide. Kilgariff's father and uncles built and ran the Barrow Creek and Tennant Creek Hotels in the early 1930s. He attended the Hartley Street School, and in 1938, the local Catholic school. His first job was building

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

s for the fledgling

Connellan Airways Connellan Airways (later Connair) was an airline headquartered in Alice Springs, Australia. It operated scheduled flights as well other air transport services throughout the Northern Territory from 1939 to 1980. History The company was fo ...

. On 17 June 1943, Kilgariff enlisted in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

and served overseas. At the time of his discharge on 11 September 1946, he was a

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the 2/5th Australian Infantry Battalion.

Political career

After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Kilgariff became involved in community service, and was a member of the Northern Territory Housing Commission for thirteen years. In 1960, he was approached by the

Administrator of the Northern Territory The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to represent the government of the Commonwealth in the Northern Territory, Australia. They perform functions similar to those of a state gov ...

with regard to joining the

Northern Territory Legislative Council The Northern Territory Legislative Council was the partly elected governing body of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1947 until its replacement by the fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974. Prior to 1947, there ha ...

. Kilgariff agreed and was elected, beginning a long political career. He supported the

North Australia Party The North Australia Party (NAP) was a short-lived political party in Australia's Northern Territory, primarily active in Alice Springs and the surrounding areas of Central Australia. It was founded in 1965 under the leadership of Lionel Rose and ...

(NAP) at the 1965 Legislative Council elections. Kilgariff was one of the founders of the

, an independent political party consisting of Country Party and

members, to field candidates at the 1974 Legislative Council elections. In 1974, the Legislative Council became the

. Kilgariff was elected to the Assembly for

, and was named the first Speaker of the Assembly. He resigned on 16 July 1975 to become Deputy Majority Leader (equivalent to a deputy premier in the states). Shortly after that, in November 1975, he resigned as Deputy Majority Leader and from the Assembly in order to run for one of two newly created seats in the

for the Northern Territory in the 1975 federal election. Kilgariff, along with

Ted Robertson Edward Albert Robertson (18 March 1929 – 5 January 1991) was an Australian politician. Born in Albany, Western Australia, he was educated at the University of Western Australia before becoming a teacher. Having moved to the Northern Terri ...

(ALP) were elected as the Northern Territory's first Senators. Kilgariff sat with the parliamentary National Country Party room, due to the affiliation between the CLP and the National Country Party. In 1979, after CLP also became affiliated with the

and permitted its federal parliamentarians to sit in the "Party Rooms of their choice in Canberra", Kilgariff chose to sit with the parliamentary Liberal Party from 8 March 1979. This was so that the CLP have representation in both the Liberal Party and the

, with the only other CLP federal member Sam Calder continuing to sit with the National Country Party.

Personal life and family

His daughter Fran is a former mayor of

, who also ran as a Labor Party candidate in the

2005 Northern Territory general election A general election was held in the Northern Territory, Australia, on 18 June 2005. The centre-left Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch), Labor Party, led by Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Chief Minister Clare Martin, won ...

. Bernie Kilgariff died on 13 April 2010, after suffering an ongoing illness. He was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

on 22 April.

Honours

Kilgariff was awarded the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

Medal (OAM) in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours for continued service to the Northern Territory through the Northern Territory Landcare Council, the Anti-Rabbit Research Foundation, the Cattleman's Association, the Australia Day Council and St John Ambulance. In the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). In 2001, he was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

for service to Australian society through parliament.KILGARIFF, Bernard Francis
''It's an Honour'', 2001.

Early life

Political career

Personal life and family

Honours

References

Further reading