Sydney James "Syd" Stirling is a former Australian politician. He was the 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 Nhulunbuy

Electoral division of Nhulunbuy

Nhulunbuy is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1974, and is named after the remote town of the same name. Nhulunbuy is a rural electorate, covering 113,600 km² and taking in the towns of Nhulunbuy, Galiwinku, Yirrkala and...

 in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral parliament of the Northern Territory in Australia. It sits in Parliament House, located on State Square, close to the centre of the city of Darwin.-History:...

 from 1990 to 2008.

Stirling was born in Kyneton, Victoria

Kyneton, Victoria

Kyneton is a town on the Calder Highway in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. The town was named after the English village of Kineton, Warwickshire. The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street...

, and worked as a teacher before his election to parliament. He challenged for the Labor leadership twice, but was easily defeated. In 1999 he was elected Deputy Leader to Clare Martin

Clare Martin

Clare Majella Martin is a former Australian politician. She is the current CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service . A former journalist, she was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995...

, and served as Deputy Chief Minister following the ALP's election win in 2001. He resigned along with Martin in November 2007, and retired at the 2008 election.