Margaret O'Rourke (born 1962) is an Australian former politician who served as mayor of the City of Greater Bendigo from 2016 to 2020 and as a councillor from 2016 to 2024. In 2024, she was appointed head of the Bendigo campus of

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

Early life and career

O'Rourke was born in 1962 in

East Bendigo East Bendigo is a suburb of the regional city of Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Mel ...

and attended St Mary's College (now Catherine McCauley College). In 1979, after completing Year 12, she began working at Telecom Australia (now

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecomm ...

) as a typist. Following this, O'Rourke moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, where she accepted a position as Learning and Development Manager for Victoria and Tasmania for Telecom. In 1994, after accepting another job, O'Rourke moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. From 1996 to 1999, O'Rourke worked in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

as, among other roles, the Service Delivery Manager of Field Operations for North Perth and Mid North West. After her father became ill, O'Rourke accepted the General Manager Customer Service position in Tasmania, moving between

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

and

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

to be closer to home. In 2000, she became the Area General Manager for

Country Wide for Hobart and Southern Tasmanian. She left Telstra and returned to Bendigo in 2006. After leaving Telstra, O'Rourke served on various committees, including as Chair of

Bendigo TAFE Bendigo TAFE is a regional provider of vocational education, training and assessment services, located in northern and central Victoria, Australia. (TAFE = Technical and Further Education) The institute has been in operation in various guises s ...

, Chair of Bendigo Business Council, Director of Bendigo Health Care Group, Director of Aspire Cultural and Charitable Foundation, and Director of

TasPorts TasPorts, officially the Tasmanian Ports Corporation, is a Tasmanian Government state-owned corporation that is responsible for the management and operation of all ports in Tasmania, Australia as well as Devonport Airport. History TasPorts was ...

Political career

O’Rourke was first elected to the

City of Greater Bendigo The City of Greater Bendigo is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of and, in August 2021, had a population of 121,470. It includes the city of Bendigo and the towns of A ...

council in the 2016 election, where she received 16.1% of the primary vote in Eppalock Ward. She was elected by the council to serve as mayor with former Bendigo mayor

Rod Fyffe Rodney James Fyffe (20 March 1949 – 12 July 2024) was an Australian politician and teacher. From 2003 to 2016, Fyffe served non-consecutively as the List of mayors of Bendigo, Mayor of the City of Greater Bendigo on four occasions. Fyffe ser ...

serving as deputy mayor. This marked the introduction of the position of deputy mayor within the City of Greater Bendigo. In 2017, the council re-elected O’Rourke as mayor, with councillor

Jennifer Alden Jennifer Alden (born 1975) is an Australian former politician and health broker who served as Mayor of the City of Greater Bendigo from 2020 to 2021 and as a councillor from 2016 to 2024. She served as Deputy Mayor twice. Political career In ...

serving as deputy mayor. As mayor, O'Rourke advocated for the establishment of the GovHub (Galkangu) state government services hub, which streamlined public services in Bendigo. During O'Rourke's tenure as mayor,

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

opened passenger transport flights between Bendigo Airport and Sydney, commencing in March 2019. In 2018, the council once again re-elected O’Rourke as mayor, with Fyffe returning as deputy mayor. O'Rourke was elected mayor for a final time in 2019, with councillor Matt Emond serving as deputy mayor. As mayor of Bendigo at the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, O'Rourke led the council in managing the city's initial response. In the 2020 election, O'Rourke was re-elected to the council with 28.41% of the primary vote. In 2024, O'Rourke received the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian 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 then ...

for services to the community in the

King's Birthday Honours List The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are p ...

. O'Rourke did not contest the 2024 election.

Post-council career

O’Rourke was appointed as the Head of

's Bendigo campus in January 2024 In July 2025, O'Rourke was appointed chairwoman of the Regional Development Advisory Committee (RDAC) of Victoria.

Personal life

O'Rourke is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In 1994, she was diagnosed with

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck, ...

. O'Rourke met her husband, Ray, whilst working for Telecom. They have two daughters, born in 2002 and 2006 respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ORourke, Margaret Living people Women mayors of places in Victoria (state) Mayors of Greater Bendigo Victoria (state) local councillors Independent politicians in Australia 1962 births 21st-century mayors of places in Australia 21st-century Australian women politicians