Dugald Ranald Ross Munro (12 June 1930 – 20 June 1973) was an Australian grazier and politician who served a single term in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1966 to 1969. He represented the

Division of Eden-Monaro The Division of Eden-Monaro is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The previous member, Mike Kelly resigned due to ill health on 30 April 2020. The seat was filled at a by-election on 4 July 2020. Geography Si ...

for 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 ...

Early life

Munro was the son of Jean (née Kater) and William Ranald Munro. His father was a

stock and station agent Stock and station agencies are businesses which provide a support service to the agricultural community. Their staff who deal with clients are known as stock and station agents.In his book Simon Ville states: "The term stock and station agent is va ...

South West Queensland South West Queensland is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers . The region lies to the south of Central West Queensland and west of the Darling Downs and includes the Maranoa district and parts of the Channel Countr ...

, as well as a champion

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

player. His maternal grandfather

Norman William Kater Sir Norman William Kater MB, ChM (18 November 1874–18 August 1965) was a medical practitioner, pastoralist and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. He was born into a socially prominent rural family. His father Henry Kater also ...

was a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

. In 1938, when Munro was seven years old, his father fell to his death from a hotel balcony. His mother remarried the following year to John Broinowski, and moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Munro was educated at

Cranbrook School, Sydney Cranbrook may refer to: People * Earl of Cranbrook, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom ** Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook (1814–1906), British Conservative politician ** John Stewart Gathorne-Hardy, 2nd Earl of Cranbrook ...

, from 1946 to 1948, where he played rugby for the first XV. He was also a junior tennis champion. He entered the family pastoral business and ran stations in

Goondiwindi, Queensland Goondiwindi () is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , Goondiwindi had a population of 6,355 people. Geography Goondiwindi is on the MacInt ...

, and

Marulan, New South Wales Marulan is the traditional lands of the Gundungurra people. It is a small town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in the Goulburn Mulwaree Council local government area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highw ...

. In 1958, he married socialite Romayne Hordern, with whom he had four children.

Politics

Munro first stood for parliament at the 1963 election, losing to the incumbent

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

(ALP) member Allan Fraser by 800 votes. He reprised his candidacy at the 1966 election and defeated Fraser – in office since 1943 – by 624 votes with the aid of

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and Democratic Labor Party preferences. Munro successfully lobbied for the headquarters of the Snowy Mountain Hydro-electricity Authority to remain in

Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega with the Riverina. At the , Cooma had a po ...

. He lost to Fraser in a rematch at the 1969 election.

Death

Munro died in a lift accident in a building in

Bridge Street, Sydney Bridge Street is a street in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Bridge Street runs for in a west–east direction with traffic flowing in both directions. It is situated in the northern portion of the centra ...

, eight days after his 43rd birthday. He was crushed to death between the lift cage and the door, despite the efforts of three bystanders – his brother, a teenage girl, and the lift operator – to free him.

References

Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Eden-Monaro Accidental deaths in New South Wales 1930 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians Elevator accidents Australian pastoralists People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub