Bob Whan

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Bob Whan
AM
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Eden-Monaro
In office
2 December 1972 – 13 December 1975
Preceded byAllan Fraser
Succeeded byMurray Sainsbury
Personal details
Born
Robert Bruce Whan

(1933-01-05)5 January 1933
Wodonga, Victoria, Australia
Died4 October 2015(2015-10-04) (aged 82)
Political partyLabor
ChildrenSteve Whan
Alma materUniversity of New South Wales
University of Leeds
OccupationAgricultural scientist

Robert Bruce Whan

AM (5 January 1933 – 4 October 2015) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and represented the Division of Eden-Monaro in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 1975. He worked in the wool industry before entering politics.[1]

Early life

Whan was born in

Albury, New South Wales, where he worked in a woolstore and gained a wool classing certificate. He later attained a degree in wool technology from the University of New South Wales and completed postgraduate studies at the University of Leeds in England.[2] He worked as a public servant before entering politics, serving as the officer-in-charge of the wool marketing section of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics.[3]

Politics

Whan was elected to federal parliament at the 1972 federal election, as the Labor candidate in the Division of Eden-Monaro. He won the seat by a margin of 503 votes, and retained it at the 1974 election by a margin of 146 votes, making it one of the most marginal seats in the country.[4] He lost his seat in Labor's landslide defeat at the 1975 election, although the relatively small swing against him was seen as evidence of his personal following.[5]

Whan won Labor preselection as the Labor candidate in the Division of Canberra at the 1977 election,[6] but following a series of challenges the initial ballot was overturned and he was replaced by Henry Lawrence,[7] who lost to the incumbent Liberal MP John Haslem. He later served as chief of staff to Richard Amery.[2]

Later life

After his defeat Whan served as head of the New South Wales Milk Board and executive director of the Australian Council for Overseas Aid. He was also a founder of Jobless Action, a Canberra-based organisation.[2]

Personal life

Whan died of cardiac arrest on 4 October 2015 at the age of 82.[8] His son, Steve Whan has been the member for Monaro in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2023, having previously been the member from 2003 to 2011 and a served in the Legislative Council from 2011 to 2015.

Prior to entering the New South Wales Parliament, Steve was the unsuccessful candidate for his father's old federal seat of Eden-Monaro in the 1998 and 2001 elections but was unsuccessful on both those occasions.[9][10]

Notes

  1. ^ "Members of the House of Representatives since 1901". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 11 June 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
  2. ^ a b c "Former Eden-Monaro MP Bob Whan dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Labor endorses public servant". The Canberra Times. 7 February 1972.
  4. ^ "A day in the life of Mr Whan, an MP in a sticky situation". The Canberra Times. 19 August 1975.
  5. ^ "More politics: Whan". The Canberra Times. 15 December 1975.
  6. ^ "Whan 'cleared' for ALP preselection". The Canberra Times. 15 July 1977.
  7. ^ "Candidacy appeal by Whan". The Canberra Times. 26 October 1977.
  8. ^ Kelly, Emma (6 October 2015). "Former Eden-Monaro MP Bob Whan dies". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Legislative Election of 3 October 1998". adam-carr.net. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Legislative Election of 10 November 2001". adam-carr.net. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Eden-Monaro
1972–1975 		Succeeded by
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