Leslie James Cochrane (29 August 1894 – 25 April 1972) was an Australian politician.
He was born in
East Brighton
Brighton East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 12 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Bayside, Bayside and Cit ...
to gardener David Cochrane and Lucy Harriett Burgess. He moved to
Caldermeade with his family at the age of eight, and served with the
AIF in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
on the Western Front, where he was seriously wounded. As a soldier settler he was granted land at
Kooweerup, where he became a dairy farmer. In December 1919 he married Ivy Mary Wildes, with whom he had two children. He served on
Cranbourne Shire Council from 1930 to 1964, with four terms as president (1935–36, 1946, 1949–50, 1957–58). In 1950 he was elected to 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 ...
as the
Country Party member for
Gippsland West. He was party whip from 1961 to 1970, when he retired from politics. He was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1971. Cochrane died at Kooweerup in 1972.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cochrane, Leslie
1894 births
1972 deaths
National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria
Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire
20th-century Australian politicians
People from Cardinia