Ian Robert Cathie is a former Australian politician.

Born in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 to printer George Mitchell Cathie and Sybil Balding, he attended state schools and then the University of Melbourne

University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...

, where he studied teaching. On 5 January 1957 he married Christine Watson, with whom he had four children; he married again on 3 July 1976 Jean Germain, an industrial nurse. He was president of the Peninsula Victorian Teachers Union in 1959 and taught at Frankston

Frankston, Victoria

Frankston is a suburb within the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area in Victoria, Australia. It is located 40 km southeast of the state capital Melbourne at the southernmost edge of Greater Melbourne, near the beginnings of the Mornington Peninsula...

 and Mordialloc

Mordialloc, Victoria

Mordialloc is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston...

 High Schools, as well as serving on the council of Monash University

Monash University

Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....

 from 1977 to 1982. In 1964 he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council

Victorian Legislative Council

The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...

 as a Labor

Australian 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...

 member for South Eastern Province; he was defeated in 1970, but in 1976 was elected to the Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

 seat of Carrum

Electoral district of Carrum

The Electoral district of Carrum is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It lies in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne, covering Aspendale, Carrum, Chelsea, Edithvale and Patterson Lakes....

, which he held until 1988.