David Bruce Cowan AM was an Australian politician and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Tom Lewis and Sir Eric Willis.
14 Facts About Bruce Cowan
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Bruce Cowan was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for 14 years from 6 November 1965 until his resignation on 29 August 1980 and then for 13 years in the Australian House of Representatives for Lyne for the Country Party of Australia and its successors, the National Country and then National Parties.
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Bruce Cowan was born in January 1926 in Taree, New South Wales, the son of a farmer, David Cowan, and Bessie Kent.
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Bruce Cowan was educated at Oxley Island Public School and Taree High School and thereafter worked as a farmer, a real estate agent, and stock and station agent.
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Bruce Cowan became a prominent member of the community, becoming the country real estate agents representative on the New South Wales Council of Auctioneers, the President of Oxley Island Primary Producers Union Branch, Secretary of Oxley Island Drainage Union and as a Member of the Taree Rotary Club for 37 years.
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Bruce Cowan married Laura Bidner on 5 June 1954 and had two daughters, one of whom, Rosemary, married the future Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party and Premier of New South Wales, Barry O'Farrell.
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Bruce Cowan ran for the local government elections and became an Alderman on Taree Municipal Council from 1957 to 1965, later rising to become Deputy Mayor from 1959 to 1965.
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Bruce Cowan went on to retain his seat a further 5 times, each time with a significant majority, until his resignation.
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Bruce Cowan held these portfolios until, Lewis' successor, Sir Eric Willis, lost the election on 14 May 1976.
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In 1980, Bruce Cowan won the National Country Party preselection for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Lyne when Philip Lucock retired from politics.
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Bruce Cowan faced the Labor candidate and Local Councillor Leslie Brown and the Liberal Party's Milton Morris who was the Member for Maitland in the NSW Legislative Assembly.
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Bruce Cowan held the seat comfortably until retiring at the 1993 election.
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On 26 January 1998, Bruce Cowan was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for service to Parliament and the community.
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Bruce Cowan died on 7 April 2011, a week after O'Farrell was elected Premier of New South Wales.