Graham Gunn

Graham McDonald Gunn, AM (born 5 September 1942),[1] Australian politician, was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly. He represented Eyre 1970 to 1997 and Stuart 1997 to 2010; he was a member of the Liberal Party.[2] First elected to Parliament at the 1970 state election, Gunn was the longest-serving member of any Parliament throughout Australia in the last years of his term.

The Honourable Graham Gunn AM
Father of the Parliament of South Australia
In office 11 December 1993 – 20 March 2010
Preceded by	Stan Evans
Succeeded by	Rob Lucas
Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly
In office 11 February 1994 – 2 December 1997
Preceded by	Norm Peterson
Succeeded by	John Oswald
Member of the South Australian House of Assembly
In office 30 May 1970 – 20 March 2010
Preceded by	Ernie Edwards (Eyre) Colleen Hutchison (Stuart)
Succeeded by	district abolished (Eyre) Dan van Holst Pellekaan (Stuart)
Constituency	Eyre (1970-1997) Stuart (1997-2010)
Alderman of the Streaky Bay Council
In office 2 July 1966 – 4 July 1970
Personal details
Born	Graham McDonald Gunn (1942-09-05) 5 September 1942 Mount Cooper, South Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal and Country League (1970-1974), Liberal Party of Australia (1974-2010)
Alma mater	Scotch College, Adelaide
Occupation	Grazier, Politician

Attending Adelaide's prestigious Scotch College, Gunn pursued a career as a farmer and grazier in the Mount Cooper area.[3] He served on the Streaky Bay Council between 1966 and 1970. In 1970, he was elected to the House of Assembly as a member of the Liberal and Country League (which became the South Australian division of the Liberal Party in 1974) for Eyre in South Australia's vast northern outback. Aged 27 at the time, he was one of the youngest politicians in Australia at the time.

Gunn served as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1994 to 1997 during the Brown Liberal Government but lost it upon the ascendancy to the leadership of John Olsen.

For most of his tenure, Gunn was reelected with little difficulty. However, before the 1997 state election, his old seat was abolished in a redistribution. Gunn contested Stuart, essentially the eastern half of his old seat. While he went into the election sitting on a notional majority of eight percent, he suffered a 7.5 percent swing against vigorous Labor opposition. He faced a strong challenge from Labor candidate Justin Jarvis in the 2006 state election, with the final result not being known until nine days after the election. Gunn ultimately emerged victorious, albeit by only 233 votes.

Gunn retired at the 2010 state election, having spent half of his life in parliament. He was the last surviving parliamentarian from the LCL, as well as the last parliamentary survivor of the Dunstan, Corcoran and Tonkin governments. The Liberals pre-selected former national basketball player Dan van Holst Pellekaan to defend Stuart.[4]

On Australia Day 2011, Gunn was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.[5]

References

1. House of Assembly Election Data - Part 3, Parliament of South Australia, 2006. Archived 1 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Graham McDonald Gunn AM". Former Member of Parliament Details. Parliament of South Australia.
3. - GUNN, Graham McDonald
4. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/26/2255201.htm
5. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1143457&search_type=advanced&showInd=true

External links

• Parliament Profile

Parliament of South Australia
Preceded by Ernest Edwards	Member for Eyre 1970–1997	District abolished
New district	Member for Stuart 1997–2010	Succeeded by Dan van Holst Pellekaan
Preceded by Stan Evans	Father of the Parliament of South Australia 1993–2010	Succeeded by Rob Lucas
Preceded by Norm Peterson	Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly 1994–1997	Succeeded by John Oswald