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Robert Cummin Katter (born Cummin Robert Katter, 5 September 1918 – 18 March 1990) was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1966 to 1990, representing the National Party (originally named the Country Party). He was the Minister for the Army in the McMahon Government in 1972. His sons Bob Katter Jr and Carl Katter as well as grandson Robbie have also been involved in politics.
Early life[change | change source]
Katter was born on 5 September 1918 in South Brisbane, Queensland, the fourth child of Vivian Bridget (née Warby) and Carl Robert Katter.[1] His father was a Maronite Catholic born in Lebanon and his mother was Australian. He has been described as a cousin of the Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran.[2] His father was one of the 24 original investors in the airline Qantas.[3]He was raised and educated "probably by the nuns" in Cloncurry, Queensland and later at Mount Carmel College in Charters Towers.[4] He started to study law at the University of Queensland and resided at St Leo's College (when the college was at Wickham Terrace).
When World War II started, he joined the Australian Army. In 1940, he was made a lieutenant. He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1942.[5] In July 1942, he had to leave the Army because of health problems. Katter later became a the owner of a local cloth business, men's clothing shop, and a theatre in Cloncurry, Queensland.[6] Once he got ownership of the theatre, one of the first things Katter did was taking out the hand rails that separated Aboriginal customers from other customers,[7] and removed hard chairs so everyone would sit on canvas chairs[8] which were usually only for European Australians.
Katter was on the Cloncurry Shire Council for over twenty years. He was a councillor from 1946 to 1967 and was its Chairman from 1948 to 1951 and again from 1964 to 1967.[9][10]
- ↑ Williams, Paul D. (2007). "Katter, Robert Cummin (Bob) (1918–1990)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 17. Melbourne University Press.
- ↑ Jones, Barry (1990-05-08). "Death of Hon R.C. Katter". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
- ↑ Hewson, John (1990-05-08). "Death of Hon R.C. Katter". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
- ↑ Lindsay, Ted (1990-05-08). "Death of Hon R.C. Katter". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
- ↑ "Katter, Robert Cumin". World War II Nominal Roll. Commonwealth of Australia. 2002. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ↑ Boswell, Ron (1990-05-08). "Death of the Hon Robert Cummin Katter". Senate Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
- ↑ Hewson, John (1990-05-08). "Death of Hon R.C. Katter". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
- ↑ Boswell, Ron (1990-05-08). "Death of the Hon Robert Cummin Katter". Senate Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
- ↑ "Biography for Katter, the Hon. Robert Cummin". ParlInfo Web. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 2018-05-14. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
- ↑ Hawke, Bob (1990-05-08). "Death of Hon R.C. Katter". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-20.