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Frank Colzato retired in 2016.

Bill Bullivant was the stepson of Christopher Annison of Wagga Wagga. He married ??, the daughter of Christopher Angel of Lake Albert. In later life, he lived in Cowra.

Head of the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences

Hilda Mary Hodge Freeman was born in Gordon, Victoria on the 6 October 1885. Although Hilda occupied a number of teaching positions throughout her life, she was perhaps better known for her contribution towards collecting and researching much of the Riverina's early folk history, which was to culminate in the publication Riverina Reminiscences. Hilda, however, died in 1937 before the manuscript was published.

Hilda first worked as a school teacher in the Ballarat district, then shifted overseas to England, where she accepted a teaching post at the Church Missionary Children's Home in Limpsfield. During her three year stay in England, she also studied a number of summer courses at Oxford University. She then lived and worked in Germany as a governess for Baron Von Klinggraef from January 1914 until she was repatriated in the following September after the outbreak of the First World War.

With an emergency passport she returned to England, then later to Australia, where she lectured and wrote about her experiences in Germany. She finally published her memoirs in An Australian Girl in Germany (1916). Apart from writing, Hilda took a keen interest in theatre production and had authored several one-act plays. Whilst in England she befriended the famous English actor, Henry Ainley.

Hilda settled in Grong Grong with her husband, Alfred Atkinson, in 1917. Hilda, who wrote under her maiden name, was first assigned by the Riverina Group of the Country Women's Association to collect and record the Riverina's early folklore and anecdotal history. The manuscript was to be produced by the CWA, but because of the Depression, not enough funds were available for it to be published. Since the manuscripts in the collection appear to be incomplete, one assumes that Hilda was still working on the project with the view to publication when she died. The manuscript was published eventually in 1985 by her daughter, Brenda Niccol.

Compiled by : James Logan.

Sources : Coolamon-Ganmain Farmers' Review, 1937; Niccol, Brenda, 'Something about the Author' and 'Preface' in Freeman, Hilda M., Murrumbidgee Memories and Riverina Reminiscences. Emu Plains, 1985.

David Denholm was born in Maryborough, Queensland, in 1924. Thanks to a good teacher at his one teacher school, he won a scholarship to study at Brisbane Church of England Grammar School, where he passed his junior certificate. The failure of his widowed mother's business forced his withdrawal from school before he completed his senior certificate. Equipped with a junior certificate he was immediately employed by the Queensland Public Service in the Department of Public Instruction, where he remained until 1942, when he was called up for war service.

With the 58/59 battalion he fought in New Guinea and on Bougainville, returning at the war's end to the Public Service in Brisbane. From there he transferred to the Commonwealth Bank, learned Russian at night classes, and got involved with the Brisbane Realist Writers' Group and the Fellowship of Australian Writers. Under the nom de plume of David Forrest, he wrote numerous short stories and two novels, The Last Blue Sea (1959), which won the first Dame Mary Gilmore Award, and The Hollow Woodheap (1962).

With the encouragement of his wife, Zita, and with some apprehension, David enrolled as an undergraduate in history at Queensland University in 1964, graduating with first class honours in 1967. He completed a PhD in history at the Australian National University in 1972, and then taught at the University of New England, before being appointed a lecturer in history at Riverina College of Advanced Education in 1974.

In 1979, Penguin Books published his best selling history book, The Colonial Australians, which reveals his adeptness in finding the right question to ask of almost any historical source.

David was a strong supporter of what was then known as the Riverina Archives, chairing the Archives Advisory Committee, and devising subjects in local history which allowed students to get hands-on experience in working with original archival sources. In retirement he put his first class knowledge of the Archives' collections to use as a research assistant for colleagues from other universities, among them Jim Hagan and Ken Turner.

David was particularly fascinated by maps and map making. He devoted much effort to arranging the 12,000 maps held in the Regional Archives, and producing finding aids of utility to historians and other researchers. Among these is a helpful guide that collates the Regional Archives' parish map holdings with those of the Mitchell Library, showing where gaps exist or are filled on a complementary basis.

David died on 19 June 1997, after a short illness. He had continued working on a research project, making use of the resources of the Archives and the Church of the Latter Day Saints family history centre, until some three weeks before his death.

Compiled by : Don Boadle.

Sources : Personnel file of David Denholm, CSU Human Resources, CSU1922, CSURA.

Clarence James 'Jim' Daley was born in Forbes on October 7, 1903. He attended Cowra and Auburn Public Schools, and Parramatta High School followed by two years studying at the Wagga Experiment Farm. In 1923, Jim was accepted into the Trangie Experiment Farm as a special Sheep & Wool student then qualified in Sheep & Wool at Sydney Technical College the following year. Over the next two years Jim worked in shearing sheds as a wool classer.

Jim's career with the NSW Department of Agriculture began in June 1926 when he was appointed Junior Assistant Sheep & Wool Officer, stationed at the Temora Experiment Farm. His duties included overseeing sheep trials and the Border Leicester stud flock. During the next two years, stationed at the Trangie and Yanco Experiment Farms, Jim trained as a lecturer in sheep and wool practices. In December 1928, Jim and the Yanco Dorset Horn stud flock and lamb trials were transferred to the Wagga Experiment Farm where he continued his work with prime lamb development and began competitively showing livestock.

During World War ll, Jim was seconded to Rural Manpower (NSW) to organise labour resources for the wool and meat industries, including shearing and slaughtering, under Wartime Emergency Regulations. After the War he was appointed to an inter-departmental committee which investigated the feasibility of decentralising the slaughtering industry in NSW. Recommendations that slaughter houses operated by local government authorities be located in Wagga Wagga, Goulburn, Dubbo and Gunnedah were made to the Federal and State Authorities. As Abattoir Officer, Jim was instrumental in the construction and establishment of abattoirs at Goulburn and Wagga Wagga and the commencement of construction at Dubbo and Gunnedah before his retirement from the Department on December 7, 1951, after the official opening of the Wagga Wagga abattoir.

Jim retired from the NSW Department of Agriculture after 25 years of service, to set himself up in private business as an auctioneer, and stock & station agent, specialising in sheep classing according to breed standards and stud stock sales. In this private capacity he expanded his repertoire of breed specialities to include Merino and provided services beyond the Riverina.

In conjunction with the Australian Society of Breeders of British Sheep, Jim introduced annual spring auction sales of classed, purebred flock rams and was instrumental in popularising 'ring selling' which became a prominent feature of his career. His services expanded to include travelling to New Zealand in the late 1950s and Tasmania in the early 1960s to purchase stud rams for his local clients.

Handling and close inspection of many hundreds of sheep each year prompted Jim to develop the Daley Sheep Classing Race which he patented in June 1956. Eventually, manufacturing costs became prohibitive and Jim allowed the patent to lapse in June 1971.

He regularly contributed to industry publications and local newspapers, including The Daily Advertiser, Country Life and Pastoral Review, voicing his opinions on the need for breed development, diversity, prime lamb production and pasture improvement. He was instrumental in the development of the dual purpose Bond/Commercial Corriedale, Poll Dorset and South Suffolk breeds.

Jim was actively involved in the Wagga Wagga Apex Club, the Riverina Branch of the Australian Society of Animal Production and the Wagga Wagga College of Technical and Further Education Committee along with numerous sheep breed societies and pastoral & agricultural associations.

Renowned in Australia and New Zealand as a sheep and wool instructor, judge, classer and buyer of Australasian and British sheep breeds, Jim judged many sheep classes at major shows including Sydney, Melbourne and Albury. He was instrumental in developing the sheep and wool industry of NSW, particularly the Riverina and Wagga Wagga district, to meet the changing market demands throughout his lifetime which ended on May 2, 2007, at the age of 103.

Compiled by Debra Leigo

Sources : Papers, Jim Daley, RW290, CSURA.

A chronic asthmatic, Reg Sharpless left England in 1923 in search of a dry place to recuperate. Sharpless settled in Sydney for several weeks, but with no improvement in his health, he was advised to shift to a dryer climate-somewhere west! This meant Sharpless had two choices: Hay or Bourke (these were the two western most extremities of the railway line at the time). The toss of a coin made his decision, and Sharpless headed for Hay by train, a journey which took approximately 20 hours. Within three weeks Sharpless found himself with paid employment on Mossgiel Station, 30 miles from Ivanhoe, as a jackaroo. His only problem was that he had no idea what a jackaroo actually did!

In time Sharpless learnt that his job entailed everything imaginable - he was 'a jack of all trades'. The working day began at 7am and did not finish often until 6.30pm. This was the routine, six days a week, with Sunday being a time for rest and recreation, which, more often took the form of tennis, shooting, swimming or picnicking. His daily duties included sheep maintenance, mustering and droving, crutching, general maintenance of vehicles and equipment, fencing, mending telephone lines and repairing wells, windmills and bores. Sharpless wrote later in his diary that he had been asked to use skills and abilities from at least eight different trades including carpentry, painting, engineering, bricklaying, coachbuilding, plumbing and shepherding. For this type of work Sharpless got board, food and a pound a week in wages.Bogged Wool Wagon

Mossgiel Station was approximately 250,000 acres. Paddock sizes varied from 10 acres to 10,000 acres. These huge portions, in comparison to the 'mother-land', were one of the factors Sharpless had to adjust to. Another was the different flora and fauna. Of these, Sharpless had the greatest difficulty with snakes. He recounts on numerous occasions his first few encounters with these 'joe-blakes', with the winner not always being one Reg Sharpless.

Owing to the enormous distances between properties and people, there were very few occasions when social outings were possible. However, there were two regular events which were never missed by Sharpless and the other jackaroos. These took the form of dances in aid of local hospitals and charities. As a result, people from as far as fifty miles would attend, including Sharpless and his drum kit, which became somewhat of a novelty. Another of his hobbies included photography, and his estimate of six hundred photographs taken during his stay at Mossgiel must have been a conservative appraisal. One of these photographs is the now famous shot of the two bogged wool teams, entitled 'The Bog' (pictured above).

Sharpless remained at Mossgiel Station for a period of two and a half years, before returning to England, as he had promised his family. In later life Sharpless published a book entitled Pommy in the Outback (1982), detailing his stay on Mossgiel Station. Reg Sharpless died in 1985 at the age of 84.

Compiled by: Wayne Doubleday.

Sources: Papers, Reginald Sharpless, RW283, CSURA.

John Alan Gibson (1904-79), grazier, engineer and lobbyist, was born at Hay, the eldest son of James Robertson Gibson (1868-1941), grazier, and his wife Ada, née Gulson (1876-1943). His grandparents John Gibson (1827-1919) and Marion, née Gemmell (1824-1908), were pioneering closer settlers in the Gunbar district. Together with Alan's uncle, Robert Gibson (1855-1936), they selected land on Gunbar Station, naming their holding 'Narringa'. Robert also was a pioneering irrigator in the Hay district. President of the Hay Municipal Irrigation Trust in 1902-1906 and mayor of Hay in 1892, 1902 and 1903, he unsuccessfully promoted the Murrumbidgee Northern Water Supply and Irrigation bill in 1905 (RW254). Alan Gibson shared his family's interest in irrigation, carrying out extensive irrigation development on his properties, serving as foundation president of the Murrumbidgee Valley Water Users' Association in 1940-45, and sponsoring the Southside Joint Water Supply Scheme (which began operating in 1966). Like his uncle, Alan was mayor of Hay, holding office in 1938 and 1939.

Alan Gibson attended school in Hay and, after winning a University Exhibition and the Gordon S. McLure Scholarship, enrolled in engineering at the University of Sydney in 1923. He was given leave of absence in 1926 to visit Britain and the United States to gain professional experience. He resumed his studies in 1927 and graduated in 1928 with a BE degree in mechanical and electrical engineering. A member of the Sydney University Rifle Club, Gibson was awarded a full Blue in 1927. His jottings suggest that his decision to return to 'Croidon', a family grazing property at Hay, may have had more to do with his personal circumstances than with the availability of employment opportunities for an engineer. In 1930 he married Catherine, née Williams; they had a son, Brough, and a daughter, Elizabeth. During these years Alan Gibson was associated with the Riverina (New State) Movement and its leader Charles Hardy jnr. Along with Hardy, he subsequently was involved in Country Party politics. His diaries (RW3) offer extended commentary on his political activities; his correspondence about these interests is at the Mitchell Library in Sydney (MS2312).

Although Gibson had acquired a large area irrigation farm at Griffith, and won second place in the 1939 Master Farmers' Competition, he apparently found insufficient intellectual challenges in farming and grazing. The demands of a growing family and the onset of drought also seem to have contributed to his restlessness and need to find additional sources of income. In October 1940 he began a consulting engineering practice in Hay. After unsuccessfully attempting to associate it with a larger metropolitan practice, he moved to Sydney with his wife and children and, in February 1942, joined the Ministry of Munitions as an engineer. In November 1945, leaving his family in Mosman, he took up a well-paid appointment in China with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. When UNRRA scaled down its Chinese operations in 1947, he returned to Sydney where he found employment as assistant engineer in the survey and investigations branch of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission. The work proved congenial, but his health began to deteriorate, prompting him to resign from the Commission's staff in June 1953. The following year he bought 'Keringal', a grazing property on the Murrumbidgee River at Hay. Back on the land, he practised sporadically as a consulting engineer (advising on irrigation and water supply projects) and again became active in community and district affairs. He was a long-standing member of Lodge Murrumbidgee (master, 1939-40), an elder of the Presbyterian Church and a member of the Murrumbidgee Valley Water Users' Association and the Riverine University League (RW64, RW100, RW624, RW953).

Gibson was interested in genealogy, compiling a modest family history with his son in 1974. His records include family papers and other items relating to his forbears. CSU Regional Archives also holds records (RW2128) from Alan's cousin, John Hughes (Jack) Gibson (1895-1971), a grazier who had tin mining interests at Gibsonvale near Ardlethan.

Compiled by : Don Boadle.

Sources : Gibson, Alan & Brough, John and Marion Gibson and their Descendants in Australia 1854-1974, Hay 1974; Atchison, John 'Robert Gibson (1855-1936)' in B. Nairn & G. Serle (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 8, Melbourne, 1981, pp. 653-4; Clark, R., The Family of John and Marion Gibson, of Narringa, Gunbar 1854-1974, [Gibson family tree], Hay, 1974; J. Alan Gibson papers, RW2298; Killen, P. & Merrylees, C., 'The Murrumbidgee Valley Water Users' Association and the Development of the Snowy Mountains Scheme', Australian Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 3(4), 1990; Boadle, D., 'Regional Water Wars: River Leagues and the Origins of the Snowy Scheme', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 80(3/4), 1994, pp. 195-211; Boadle, D., 'Activists, Experts and Intellectuals: a 1950s Rural Network', Rural Society, 10(2), 2000, pp. 153-174.

Alderman of Wagga Wagga City Council

William Carnie was born in Levin, Fyfe, Scotland on 10 October 1905. He arrived in Australia on 24 December 1923 from Scotland on board the TSS Ballarat and worked in the agricultural industry in the Wagga area. He joined the Jehovah's Witnesses in the 1930s and died in Hong Kong on or about 3 April 1964.

Professor of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture.

Geography lecturer at the Wagga Wagga Teachers' College.

Ernest Lapthorne was born in Huntly, Victoria in 1871 and was the second youngest of a large family of thirteen children. Lapthorne left Victoria in c.1895 and took up a newspaper position in Berrigan, New South Wales, where his brothers Frederic and Charles were carpenters.

In 1896-97, Lapthorne made an interesting trip to the United States and Great Britain and subsequently documented his travel experiences in a series of newspaper articles entitled “From Berrigan to America” and “A Gumsucker Abroad”. The travel journal contains further documentation about his day to day activities abroad and reveals Lapthorne’s assiduous note-taking and budgeting. His scrapbook includes several photographs of Honolulu in Hawaii, as well as photographs of his home town, Berrigan.

After he returned to Australia, Lapthorne moved to Narrandera and became proprietor and editor of the “Narrandera Argus”. He was also active in the Narrandera Public Hospital, becoming treasurer and later president. He held the position of president until he retired in about 1916 due to ill health. Lapthorne died in Narrandera in February 1916 at the age of 44.

Evadne Jean Fenn Lusher was the daughter of Edwin F and Jean C Lusher of Sydney. The Lusher family arrived in Wagga Wagga in 1926 and Edwin went into partnership with Charles Throsby Young and Fredrick Charles Stellway, becoming Lusher, Young and Stellway Solicitors in Fitzmaurice Street.

Following her 1941 graduation from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Arts, where she was twice awarded the Albert Prize for Anthropology (1), she entered into articles of clerkship with her father, passing her final law examination in November 1943 (2). Evadne was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW on 28 July 1944 (3). While practicing with Lusher, Young and Stellway in Wagga Wagga, Evadne continued with her studies and presented her thesis titled, "A Sociological Survey of Wagga" to Sydney University in 1945 (4). She was conferred with a Master of Arts (Anthropology) in 1945.

In 1947, artist Molly Johnson entered her portrait of Evadne Fenn Lusher in the Archibald Prize (5). In 1948, she set sail for England and the University of Cambridge where she continued her studies into anthropology. In ?? she was conferred with a Master of Letters and elected as a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain.

In her spare time, Evadne was also a keen playwright and was a long time member of the Wagga Wagga School of Arts. In 1951, she combined her historical and anthropological talents with her script writing skills and wrote "They Founded a City" for the Wagga Anglican Church's centenary celebrations (6).

Evadne Fenn Lusher married Hugh Hamlyn-Harris at St James' Church in King Street, Sydney on 5 January 1952 (7).

1) The Daily Advertiser - Personal Column https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145233686
2) The Daily Advertiser - Personal Column https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/143996816
3) The Daily Advertiser - Personal Column https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/144867604
4) The Daily Advertiser - Personal Column https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/144977015
5) The Daily Advertiser - Personal Column https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145147641
6) 16 November 1951, The Daily Advertiser: Wagga Author's Play of Town's History and Life https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145576946
7) 12 January 1952, The Daily Advertiser: Wagga Solicitor married in Sydney https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145623654

Beverley Johnson enrolled at the Riverina College of Advanced Education in 1978, graduating with distinction in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts (Librarianship) and was awarded the College Medal. Previous to this, she had trained and worked as an accountant, then enrolled at Mount Beauty High School to complete the Higher School Certificate in 1977 as an adult. Having been diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child, Beverley's career in librarianship had a particular focus on access to information for Australians with disabilities.

Mary Gilmore was born in 1865 near Goulburn, Australia, the eldest child of David Cameron and Mary Ann Beattie. Her father was a man of many trades, working as a farmer, carpenter, builder and innkeeper throughout his life, while her mother shared Mary’s literary passions, writing for both the ‘Australian Town and Country Journal’ and the ‘Daily Telegraph’. While the family lived in several areas around south-western NSW, Mary spent many of her formative years in Wagga Wagga. She was educated in several Wagga schools throughout her youth where she developed her deep love and appreciation for writing. Mary described learning to write as if “… the gates of the world had opened. I had wings. I could not help writing”. After completing her education, Mary was employed as a pupil-teacher at Wagga Wagga Public School. She continued to teach in and around Wagga for several years. Despite her many travels and adventures later in life, Mary maintained a deep appreciation for the nature and people in Wagga, which she often expressed through her poetry and writings.

In 1890, Mary moved to Sydney and began to teach at Neutral Bay Public School. While in the city, Mary became increasingly entrenched in the radical movements of her day. She became particularly invested in the New Australia movement led by William Lane, often writing for the New Australia Settlement Association’s journal. In 1895, Mary set sail for Cosme, the New Australia Colony in Paraguay, where she would continue to teach and write. It was here that she met and married her husband, William Gilmore. Mary gave birth to their only child, William Dysart Cameron Gilmore in 1898, near Cosme, Paraguay. However, Mary became increasingly unhappy at Cosme and she and her husband resigned from the colony in 1899. They continued to live and work and Paraguay for three years before eventually making their way back to Australia.

After arriving back in Australia, Mary continued to write, becoming increasingly involved in the literary community. She wrote for several bulletins and journals and published her first collection of poetry, ‘Marri’d and other Verses’, in 1910. Mary continued to publish poetry and prose over the next five decades, becoming particularly prolific throughout the Second World War. Mary also became increasingly involved in political activism. She was a champion for Aboriginal rights, industrial arbitration, prison reform, and freedom of the press and often discussed these causes in her poetry and other works. As a friend of her described, “one almost senses an invisible army behind Mary Gilmore when her sense of justice is aroused”. Both her literary works and her activism has made Mary Gilmore an important figure in Australian history. She is now commemorated in Australia by being featured on the ten-dollar bill.

Student of Charles Sturt University from 2001 to 2003, graduating with distinction in May 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts (Communication - Theatre and Media). A memorial fund was established by Lyndey Milan and John Caldon in 2011 following his death on 17 April that year from acute myeloid leukaemia. The Blair Milan Memorial Fund now aims to support The Blair Milan Scholarship (awarded to students studying Theatre/Media at Charles Sturt University) and The Blair Milan Tour (which helps to support the presentation of the work of final year Theatre/Media students to Australian audiences). In 2017, the Fund stood at $115,006.11.

Student of Riverina College of Advanced Education, 1972-1975.

Albert Green died on 29 June 1980 at "Greenleaf", Kanglara (near Boorowa).

Academic in Information Technology at Charles Sturt University.

An agency history is available. Please ask the Reference Archivist for more information.

Thomas Louis Bull (1905-76) was born at Wagga Wagga on 7 September 1905, the fourth of five sons of Henry James Bull, grazier, and his wife Charlotte Roberta, nee Tresilian. Tom was educated in a one-teacher school at Gobbagaula, near Narrandera, and at Wesley College, Melbourne. He became a partner in several of his family's pastoral properties in the Narrandera district, and in 1948 bought 'Yarramundi', a 5000 acre sheep and cattle run fronting the Murrumbidgee River near Euroley. 'Yarramundi' had at one time been part of John Peter's Tubbo Station (see Charles Sturt University Regional Archives collection RW2).

Bull was a man of strong beliefs-an avowed free trader, an elder of the Presbyterian Church and an enthusiastic Rotarian-who was active all his adult life in producer organisations and Country Party politics. He held office continuously as a director of the Narrandera Pastures Protection Board from 1943 until his death. Board chairman in 1948-50, 1955-57 and 1972-74, he represented the South Western Boards on the New South Wales Council of Advice in 1956-67. He was president of the Graziers' Association of Riverina in 1959-62, vice-president of the Australian Woolgrowers' and Graziers' Council in 1960-62, and president in 1962-65. As Council president, he worked to unify the wool industry, securing support from the Australian Wool and Meat Producers' Federation in 1962 for the establishment of the Australian Wool Industry Conference. Secretary of the Narrandera branch of the Country Party (see Charles Sturt University Regional Archives collection RW2104) in 1945-66, Bull was a successful candidate for New South Wales at the 1964 Senate election. He took his place on 1 July 1965, delivering his maiden speech during the Budget debate on 2 September.

Bull was deeply involved in the Senate's committee work. A Temporary Chairman of Committees in 1967-68, he was elected Chairman of Committees and Deputy President of the Senate on 25 November 1969. Colleagues on both sides of the chamber praised his fairness, his respect for parliamentary tradition and his gentlemanly demeanour. He served on the Select Committee on the Container Method of Handling Cargoes (1967-68), the Select Committee on Medical and Hospital Costs (1968-70) and the Standing Orders Committee (1969-71). As a member of the Standing Orders Committee, he was one of the architects of the Senate's system of properly serviced standing committees. He found considerable satisfaction in his appointment as chairman of the Standing Committee on Primary and Secondary Industry and Trade (1970-71).

Most political commentators assumed Bull would be returned at the November 1970 election, but he was placed third on the Coalition ticket in NSW, and a massive increase in support for the Democratic Labor Party led to his defeat. Disappointed to be leaving the Senate at a time of unprecedented rural crisis, he remained active in state and regional affairs, chairing the Riverina Regional Advisory Council in 1973-75 and the New South Wales Pastures Protection Boards Committee of Inquiry in 1974-75. He also maintained his involvement with the Country Party, managing John W. Sullivan's (see Charles Sturt University Regional Archives collections RW80 and RW103) successful campaign for the federal seat of Riverina at the December 1975 election.

Tom Bull died in hospital at Wagga Wagga on 11 August 1976, after a short illness, and was cremated privately; more than 500 people attended a memorial service at St John's Presbyterian Church in Narrandera. His wife Jessie, nee Hendry, whom he had married on 11 March 1937, and their two sons and two daughters all survived him.

Compiled by : Don Boadle.

John Alexander "Ian" Pettitt was a member of the Country Party and was elected as the Member for Hume to the House of Representatives in 1963. He held this seat until 1972.

Born in Ganmain in 1917 to John McPherson (a butcher) and Josephine Ledger. Trained and worked as a butcher in Wagga Wagga. Married Lorna Ellis in 1943 and had 4 children. Served in the 2nd Australian Infantry Forces from 1940 to 1946. Wagga Wagga City Council Alderman from 1956 to 1959. Labor member of the NSW Legislative Council from 1964 - 1981, serving as Deputy Lead of the Opposition from 1972 to 1973 and Temporary Chairman of committees from 1973 to 1978. Died in Wagga Wagga in 1994.

Commonwealth National Country Party, House of Representatives Member for Riverina, 1974-1977.

Stephen Lusher was a member of the Country Party and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1974 in the seat of Hume, serving as the Shadow Minister for Transport in 1983 and 1984. He was defeated at the December 1984 election by Wal Fife (the Liberal member for Farrer) following a redistribution of electoral boundaries.