Thomas Alfred Pyne (31 January 1935 – 30 October 2011) was an Australian politician. He was the shire chairman of the Shire of Mulgrave from 1979 to 1995, and following the amalgamation of Mulgrave with the City of Cairns, was

Mayor of Cairns This is a list of mayors of the Far North Queensland city of Cairns. Cairns was originally established as a Borough with a Chairman from 1885 until 1903, when the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'' transformed it into a Town with a Mayor. The Town a ...

from 1995 to 2000. His son,

Rob Pyne Robert John Pyne (born 23 April 1967) is an Australian politician, currently serving as a Cairns Region councillor as a member of the Socialist Alliance. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from January 2015 until Novem ...

, was a Cairns City Councillor and State Member (Labor and Independent) for Cairns in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembl ...

Professional life and party politics

Pyne was born in

Babinda Babinda is a rural town and locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Babinda had a population of 1,253 people. Geography Babinda is located south of Cairns. The town is noted for its proximity to Queensl ...

, the youngest of five children. He was educated at the McDonnell's Creek, Bellenden Ker and Hambledon State Schools, and lived for a period at Deeral before moving to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. He married Marion McKinnon in 1955; they had two children. He worked as a wood machinist with Cairns furniture manufacturer A. H. Kent, and later for Queensland Railways, the Department of Works, and Advanx Tyre and Motor Services. He subsequently opened his own business, Tin-Sang and Co, at

. Pyne also served in the Royal Queensland Regiment Reserve, attaining the rank of sergeant. Pyne joined the Labor Party at 18, and held a range of roles in the party, including local branch president and secretary, campaign director for several MPs, including former Treasurer

Keith De Lacy Keith Ernest De Lacy, AM (7 August 1940 – 26 November 2021) was an Australian politician and businessman. Early life De Lacy was born in Cairns and grew up on a tobacco farm in the Mareeba/Dimbulah district. He received a Diploma of Agricul ...

, ultimately being awarded life membership of the party in 1985.

Local government

Pyne was elected as a Shire of Mulgrave councillor in 1961, and served continuously until the shire was merged into the City of Cairns in 1995. He was elected deputy shire chairman in 1976, and in 1979, following the retirement of former chairman Ken Alley, was elected shire chairman. He served as shire chairman for 16 years until the shire's dissolution. He was a prominent member of the Local Government Association of Queensland, becoming a member of the Local Government Executive in 1979, being re-appointed in 1985, 1988 and 1991, and later serving as the president of the LGAQ from 1997 to 2000. Pyne was an opponent of proposed forced council mergers in the early 1990s, including that of Mulgrave with neighboring Cairns, and headed a group of North Queensland councils opposed to the amalgamations. The campaign was unsuccessful, and the Shire of Mulgrave was merged into the City of Cairns in 1995. Pyne contested the first mayoral election for the new enlarged City of Cairns in 1995, and easily defeated incumbent Cairns mayor Kevin Byrne. His term as mayor included overseeing the transition to the new council, new council headquarters, and the Esplanade Lagoon on the Cairns foreshore. He retired in 2000, having never lost an election, and having served as shire chairman or mayor for 21 consecutive years. He was succeeded as Mayor of Cairns by his predecessor, Kevin Byrne.

Honours

On Australia Day in 2000, it was announced that Tom Pyne had been appointed as an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

. Pyne was also awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001.https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1117869 Tom Pyne died in the township of

, south of Cairns, Queensland, on 30 October 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyne, Tom Australian Labor Party mayors Mayors of Cairns 1935 births 2011 deaths