Cecil Owen James Monro (8 April 1883 – 1 May 1966) was an Australian politician and a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

between 1932 and 1941 and 1950–53. He was a member of the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

and 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 ...

. Monro was born in

North Sydney, New South Wales North Sydney is a suburb and major commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, Australia. North Sydney is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governme ...

. He was the son of a timber merchant, and was educated at

The Scots College , motto_translation = O that we may be worthy of our forefathers , location = Bellevue Hill, Eastern Suburbs, Sydney , country = Australia , type = Independent single-sex primary a ...

. He initially worked as a clerk but later owned a real estate agency, hotels and an auctioneering business. He was involved in community groups in the

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney ...

region including Rotary and the

Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club The Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club, was one of the first surf clubs established in Australia in 1907. The club had very humble beginnings in a tram carriage and today the clubhouse is housed in a magnificent art deco building on the beachfront, th ...

. After two unsuccessful attempts, Monro was elected to the New South Wales Parliament as the United Australia Party member for

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...

. He defeated the sitting Labor member Ted Kinsella at the

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

landslide that swept away the government of Jack Lang. Monro retained the seat until the

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

election, when his defeat by Labor's Arthur Williams contributed to the fall of the conservative coalition government of Bertram Stevens. Monro re-entered parliament as the Liberal member for the new seat of

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

at the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

state election. In a result which had a major influence on the course of Australian history, he defeated the Labor candidate

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

. Whitlam subsequently turned his attention to Federal politics and became the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

between 1972 and 1975. Monro was defeated at the next election in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

and retired from public life. He did not hold a ministerial, party or parliamentary position.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monro, Cecil 1883 births 1966 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian auctioneers 20th-century Australian politicians