19 Facts About Bruce Goodluck

Bruce John Goodluck was an Australian politician.

Bruce Goodluck was a member of the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1993, representing the Liberal Party in the Tasmanian seat of Franklin.

Bruce Goodluck later represented Franklin in the Tasmanian House of Assembly as an independent from 1996 to 1998.

Bruce Goodluck's mother left the family when he was seven years old and he was raised by his father Harry who worked as a boiler attendant at Boyer.

Bruce Goodluck spent his early years living in Dromedary, living in a house without electricity.

Bruce Goodluck received his early schooling from the state school at Bridgwater.

Bruce Goodluck went on to attend Hobart High School, where he captained the school's cricket and football teams.

Bruce Goodluck's father died when he was 15 years old.

At the age of 16, Bruce Goodluck was scouted by the Melbourne Football Club and moved to Victoria.

Bruce Goodluck briefly played in the VFL thirds but soon returned to Tasmania.

Bruce Goodluck eventually ran his own service station at Lindisfarne for 15 years and established a tyre company.

Bruce Goodluck was state president of the Australian Automobile Chamber of Commerce from 1971 to 1974 and served a term as national president.

Bruce Goodluck was elected warden of the Clarence Municipality in 1972.

Bruce Goodluck rose to public prominence in 1975 following the Tasman Bridge disaster, which saw Clarence cut off from central Hobart, and was "active in agitating on behalf of the Eastern Shore community which had been isolated by the disaster".

Bruce Goodluck was invited to the join the Liberal Party and was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1975 federal election, defeating long-term incumbent Australian Labor Party MP Ray Sherry in the seat of Franklin.

Bruce Goodluck remained a backbencher throughout his parliamentary service and crossed the floor to vote against the Liberals on a number occasions.

Bruce Goodluck announced his retirement due to ill health in December 1992, following two mild strokes.

In 2000 Bruce Goodluck was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.

Bruce Goodluck died at the age of 83 on 24 October 2016.