Claude Champion (30 June 1906 – September 1982) was an Australian public servant in Papua New Guinea. He served as a member of the Legislative Council in two spells between 1951 and 1961.

Biography

Born in 1906 to Herbert Champion, who served as Government Secretary of the

Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...

from 1913 to 1942, Claude was educated at

the Southport School , motto_translation = Let him who deserves the palm of victory bear it. , established = , type = Independent early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school , denomination = Anglican , headmaster = Andrew Hawkins , fou ...

in Queensland.''Who's who in Australia – Volume 17'', p167 Despite being discouraged from joining the civil service by his father, who feared being accused of nepotism, he was appointed a government clerk in 1927, before becoming a

patrol officer A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology From French ''patrouiller'', from Old Fren ...

the following year. 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 opposing ...

he was a member of the

Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit The Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) was a civil administration of Territory of Papua and the Mandated Territory of New Guinea formed on 21 March 1942 during World War II. The civil administration of both Papua and the Mand ...

from 1942 to 1946, rising to the rank of major. Following the war, he was appointed Assistant Government Secretary. While he was acting as Government Secretary in the early 1950s, he was appointed to the Legislative Council following the 1951 elections, alongside his brother

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

. He remained a member until the following year when Steven Lonergan was appointed as permanent Government Secretary.P-NG Legislative Council
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', March 1952, p56 He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal in 1953.Coronation medals for P-NG residents
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', July 1953, p20 In 1959 he was appointed Director of Civil Affairs,Two senior appointments in the public service of Papua and New Guinea
Parliament of Australia and also returned to the Legislative Council, as well as joining the Executive Council. He retired in 1961 and moved to Australia. Following his retirement, he joined the Retired Officers Association of Papua New Guinea. He died in the

Dee Why Dee Why is a coastal suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of Northern Be ...

area of Sydney in September 1982 due to liver failure.Claude Champion
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', December 1982, p73

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion, Claude 1906 births People from the National Capital District (Papua New Guinea) People educated at the Southport School Territory of Papua people Australian public servants Papua New Guinean civil servants Members of the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea 1982 deaths