Yvonne Ann Chapman (born 20 January 1940) is an Australian politician with the National Party. She was a Queensland Member of Parliament from 1983 until 1989 where she was for a time Minister for Family Services in the Bjelke-Petersen Government and Minister for Transport and Ethnic Affairs in the Cooper Government', and Mayor of the Shire of Pine Rivers (1994–2008).

Background

Chapman contested the 1994

mayoral election Mayoral may refer to: * Mayoral is an adjectival form of mayor * Mayoral, a Spanish Children's Fashion Company * Borja Mayoral (born 1997), Spanish footballer * César Mayoral (born 1947), Argentine diplomat * David Mayoral (born 1997), Spanish f ...

against sitting Shire Chairman

Rob Akers Robert George Akers (17 October 1941 – 28 October 2006) was an architect and Liberal Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, for the seat of Pine Rivers 1974–1983. Later he was Chairman of Shire of Pine Rivers from 1985 to 1 ...

and 4 others. In addition to being the first time the Shire elected a Mayor, it was also the first time a preferential ballot was used. Akers received the majority of the first preferences but Chapman was victorious after the distribution of preferences. This was the second time Chapman had defeated Rob Akers at a significant election, having taken the Queensland Parliamentary seat of

Pine Rivers The Shire of Pine Rivers was a Local government in Australia, local government area about north of Brisbane in the Moreton Bay, Queensland, Moreton Bay region of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed as ...

from him in 1983.

Legacy

Yvonne Chapman was the first woman to hold a Cabinet position in the Queensland Parliament, and was the first and last Mayor of Pine Rivers Shire (previous leaders of the Council were known as the Shire Chairman). Chapman established herself as a conservative persona, maintaining Pine Rivers to be a 'clean' shire. She retired from politics in 2008 after the abolition of her native Shire of Pine Rivers and its merger into the larger Moreton Bay Regional Council, neither contesting the mayoral or council ballots for the new entity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Yvonne 1940 births National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland Living people Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Women members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly