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

member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

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 The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main Ballarat campus, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, unde ...

, where he studied agricultural engineering. He worked on his family's property at Pimpinio after leaving school, but joined the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

during

World War II 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 ...

. 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 coastal 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 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 1973–1979, the State Development Committee from 1979–1982, and the Natural Resources and Environment Committee from 1983–1985. He retired at the 1985 state election. Burgin died in November 2003 in

Tewantin Tewantin ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. In the , Tewantin had a population of 10,920 people. Tewantin was the original settlement in the Noosa region and is one of its three major centres today. Hi ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

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