Murray Gavin

James Murray Gavin OAM JP, known as Murray Gavin, was born on 4 September 1920 in Corowa and passed away on 25 May 2005. He was first elected to the Coburg Council representing the East Ward on 26 August 1967 (1). He was to serve on the Council for the next 24 years, retiring in 1991 (2), and served a record four terms as Mayor: 1975-76, 1978-1979, 1987-88 and 1988-89 (3). One of his achievements was the establishment of an annual Maurice Blackburn lecture, which he chaired from 1987 – 1991. At this lecture, the local federal member for Wills, Bob Hawke (who was also Prime Minister at the time), was the first speaker on 28 March 1987 (4) (5). He also introduced a weekly mayoral column in the Coburg Courier to inform ratepayers about services, issues, and the workings of the council, which improved community awareness of local government (6). Kelvin Thomson, the member for Wills, said in the Australian Parliament “the man I learnt most from, my political mentor, was Murray Gavin” (7). Murray Gavin was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on 26 January 1982 (8) (9). His wife Amy, who was Mayoress of Coburg on four occasions, was also awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on 26 January 1994 “for her tireless promotion of Coburg’s neighbourhood houses, kindergartens, elderly citizens clubs and facilities for non-English speakers” (10). His eldest son Peter was elected to the Victorian State Parliament for the district of Coburg, defeating the sitting Independent MLA Jack Mutton by 632 votes on 5 May 1979 (11) (12). His only daughter Patricia won the state and national cross-country titles in 1970 (13). Gavin Park was officially opened by the then-mayor Councillor Frank Cox on World Environment Day, 5 June 1982. It was named in recognition of the services given to Coburg by the Gavin family (14). It is an important parkland of 4.23 hectares off Northumberland Road, Pascoe Vale in the north west of the City of Moreland. Latitude: 37.7255, Longitude: 144.9327 (15). Gavin Park is part of the Westbreen Creek linear park; there is a playground with barbecue, shelter, and picnic tables at the Northumberland Road end of the park (16).

References

References[edit source] 1. Coburg Courier 29 August 1967 p. 1 2. Broome p.346 3. Broome p.363 4. Maurice Blackburn Fifth Memorial Lecture 1990 Speech by Dr. Carolyn Rasmussen p.3 5. Broome p.321 6. Moreland Community News 31 May 2005 p.1 7. Kelvin Thomson MHR Wills speech Commonwealth of Australia Parliamentary Debates House of Representatives 26 May 2005 p.50 8. www.itsanhounour.gov.au “Murray Gavin” 9. Broome p.363 10. Broome ps.347 and 363 11. Broome p.258 12. Coburg Courier 15 May 1979 p.1 13. Broome p.323 14. Coburg Courier 15 June 1982 p.6 15. https://www.govserv.org/AU/Pascoe-Vale/115277628561598/Gavin-Park (retrieved 18 October 2020) 16. https://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/events-recreation/parks-and-trails/find-a-park/gavin-park/ (retrieved 18 October 2020)

Sources[edit source] • Broome, R (2001) Coburg: Between two Creeks, Coburg Historical society Coburg ISBN 0950912784 Search this book on . • City of Coburg Centenary 1875-1975: Celebrating 100 years of local government in the City of Coburg, published by the Coburg Council • Coburg Courier 29 August 1967 • Coburg Courier 15 May 1979 • Coburg Courier 15 June 1982 • Maurice Blackburn Memorial Lecture: Speech by the Prime Minister Inaugural Maurice Blackburn Memorial Lecture Coburg 28 March 1987 published by the Coburg Council • Maurice Blackburn Fifth Memorial Lecture 1991, published by the Coburg Council • Moreland Community News 31 May 2005 • Thomson, K (2005) speech Commonwealth of Australia Parliamentary Debates House of Representatives 26 May

Hi I am the eldest son of Murray Gavin. Peter Gavin Cultural Heritage Comm (talk) 07:20, 20 October 2020 (UTC)

This article "Murray Gavin" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Murray Gavin. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

---