Cleaver Bunton
Encyclopedia
Cleaver Ernest Bunton AO
OBE
(5 May 1902 - 20 January 1999) was a long serving Mayor of Albury, New South Wales
, Australia
, who came to national prominence in 1975 when he was controversially appointed to the Senate
.
, Bunton left school at 13 and initially worked as a clerk in a solicitor's office before becoming an accountant. He also was involved in Albury sporting and community affairs, playing Australian rules football
with the Albury Football Club
, becoming captain-coach and club secretary at 17. His younger brother Haydn Bunton
went on to become a notable Australian rules footballer.
Bunton married Eileen O'Malley in 1930. In 1930, Bunton was elected president of the Ovens and Murray Football League
(a position he held until 1969). He also held administrative roles in the Victorian Country Football League
, the West Albury Tennis Club and a range of other community groups and organisations.
Senator for New South Wales Lionel Murphy
on 9 February 1975 to take up an appointment as a judge of the High Court
.
Convention dictated that Senate casual vacancies were filled by persons from the same political party. However, on 27 February the New South Wales Liberal Party
Premier
, Tom Lewis
, defied this convention by appointing Bunton, who was not affiliated with any party. Facing a hostile Labor Party (and sometimes hostile electorate), Bunton surprised many observers by acting independently rather than as a Liberal appointee, and resisted urgings from the Malcolm Fraser
-led Opposition to block the supply bills of Prime Minister
Gough Whitlam
's government, instead supporting Labor on the supply bills during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.
Bunton chose not to contest the ensuing election
but to retire, and his term ended on 30 June 1976. The controversy surrounding his and Albert Field
's appointments prompted an amendment to the Constitution requiring that casual Senate vacancies be filled by a member of the same party.
(OBE) in 1954, an Officer of the Order of Australia
(AO) in 1975, a member of the Ovens and Murray League Hall Of Fame, as well as receiving an honorary degree from Charles Sturt University
and having a street in Albury, a chrysanthemum
and a ward in the Albury Base Hospital named in his honour.
In recognition of his years of service to his home city, Bunton was occasionally known by the sobriquet "Mr Albury".
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(5 May 1902 - 20 January 1999) was a long serving Mayor of Albury, New South Wales
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, who came to national prominence in 1975 when he was controversially appointed to the Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
.
Early life
Born in AlburyAlbury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
, Bunton left school at 13 and initially worked as a clerk in a solicitor's office before becoming an accountant. He also was involved in Albury sporting and community affairs, playing Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
with the Albury Football Club
Albury Football Club
The Albury Football Club are an Australian rules football club which compete in the Ovens & Murray Football League.The club is based in Albury, New South Wales.Two Brownlow Medallists, Haydn Bunton senior and Denis Ryan, both started their career at Albury....
, becoming captain-coach and club secretary at 17. His younger brother Haydn Bunton
Haydn Bunton, Sr.
Haydn William Bunton was an Australian rules football player and coach. He is regarded by some historians and observers of Australian rules as its greatest-ever player.-Playing career:...
went on to become a notable Australian rules footballer.
Bunton married Eileen O'Malley in 1930. In 1930, Bunton was elected president of the Ovens and Murray Football League
Ovens & Murray Football League
The Ovens and Murray Football League, often referred to locally as the O&M, is a semi-professional Australian rules football league based around ten clubs in north-eastern Victoria and the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, and affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League...
(a position he held until 1969). He also held administrative roles in the Victorian Country Football League
Victorian Country Football League
The Victorian Country Football League is the governing body for Australian rules football in Victoria outside of metropolitan Melbourne on behalf of AFL Victoria...
, the West Albury Tennis Club and a range of other community groups and organisations.
Municipal career
In recognition of his role in Albury, Bunton was encouraged to run for a position on the Albury Municipal Council, and was elected in 1925 at the age of 22, the youngest person ever elected to a council to that time. After initially retiring in 1931, he returned to the council in 1937, elected Mayor of Albury in 1945 and served as such (with a few minor breaks) until August 1976. Bunton was also a regional radio commentator, commenting on sport and reading the news bulletins.Appointment to the Australian Senate
Bunton would have remained an uncontroversial hardworking local administrator but for the resignation of Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
Senator for New South Wales Lionel Murphy
Lionel Murphy
Lionel Keith Murphy, QC was an Australian politician and jurist who served as Attorney-General in the government of Gough Whitlam and as a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1975 until his death.- Personal life :...
on 9 February 1975 to take up an appointment as a judge of the High Court
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
.
Convention dictated that Senate casual vacancies were filled by persons from the same political party. However, on 27 February the New South Wales Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
Premier
Premiers of New South Wales
The Premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature...
, Tom Lewis
Tom Lewis (Australian politician)
Thomas Lancelot Lewis AO is a former New South Wales politician, Premier of New South Wales and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Sir Robert Askin and Sir Eric Willis. He was made the Premier of New South Wales following Askin's retirement from politics and held it until he was replaced by...
, defied this convention by appointing Bunton, who was not affiliated with any party. Facing a hostile Labor Party (and sometimes hostile electorate), Bunton surprised many observers by acting independently rather than as a Liberal appointee, and resisted urgings from the Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
-led Opposition to block the supply bills of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
's government, instead supporting Labor on the supply bills during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.
Bunton chose not to contest the ensuing election
Australian federal election, 1975
Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election following a double dissolution of both Houses....
but to retire, and his term ended on 30 June 1976. The controversy surrounding his and Albert Field
Albert Field
Albert Patrick Field was an Australian who was a French polisher plucked from obscurity to become a Senator in 1975. The circumstances of his appointment were instrumental in precipitating the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.Queensland ALP Senator Bertie Milliner died suddenly on 30 June 1975...
's appointments prompted an amendment to the Constitution requiring that casual Senate vacancies be filled by a member of the same party.
Honours
For his services, Bunton was made an Officer of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE) in 1954, an Officer of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AO) in 1975, a member of the Ovens and Murray League Hall Of Fame, as well as receiving an honorary degree from Charles Sturt University
Charles Sturt University
Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus university located in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. It has campuses at Bathurst, Canberra, Albury-Wodonga, Dubbo, Goulburn, Orange, Wagga Wagga and Burlington, Ontario...
and having a street in Albury, a chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...
and a ward in the Albury Base Hospital named in his honour.
In recognition of his years of service to his home city, Bunton was occasionally known by the sobriquet "Mr Albury".