Bruce Charles Eastick, AM (born 25 October 1927) is a former South Australian politician, and was South Australian Leader of the Opposition from 1972 to 1975. He was a member of the Liberal and Country League (LCL), later renamed the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia in 1974. He represented the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Light from 1970 to 1993.

Bruce Eastick
Gawler Mayor Bruce Eastick in 1999
Leader of the Opposition in South Australia
In office
15 March 1972 – 24 July 1975
DeputyRobin Millhouse
John Coumbe
Preceded bySteele Hall
Succeeded byDavid Tonkin
Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly
In office
11 October 1979 – 7 December 1982
Preceded byGil Langley
Succeeded byTerry McRae
Leader of the South Australian
Liberal Party
[a]
In office
15 March 1972 – 24 July 1975
Preceded bySteele Hall
Succeeded byDavid Tonkin
Member for Light
In office
30 May 1970 – 11 December 1993
Preceded byJohn Freebairn
Succeeded byMalcolm Buckby
Mayor of Gawler
In office
6 July 1968 – 1 July 1972
In office
1 May 1993 – 6 May 2000
Succeeded byTony Piccolo
Alderman of the Gawler Council
In office
6 July 1963 – 1 July 1972
In office
1 May 1993 – 6 May 2000
Personal details
Born
Bruce Charles Eastick[1]

(1927-10-25) 25 October 1927 (age 97)[1]
Reade Park, South Australia, Australia
Political partyLiberal and Country League, Liberal Party of Australia (SA)
Parent(s)Sir Thomas Eastick and Ruby Eastick (née Bruce)[1]

Gawler Council

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Eastick was a member of the Gawler Council from 1963 to 1972,[2][3] and served as mayor from 1968[4] to 1972. He had a second stint as mayor from 1993[5] to 2000.

Parliament

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Eastick was elected to the House of Assembly for Light, based on Gawler, in 1970. Two years later, after Steele Hall resigned as LCL leader, the party elected Eastick as his successor.

Eastick led his party to the 1973 and 1975 elections, losing both to the Don Dunstan-led South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. His term as leader saw the LCL, the state's main conservative party since 1932, formally rename itself as the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia, although a separate state Country Party had been reformed in 1963. He was thus the only LCL leader to have never served as Premier.

Eastick also served as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly when his successor as South Australia Liberal leader, David Tonkin, was Premier from 1979 to 1982.

Honours

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In 1996, Eastick was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), in recognition of his "service to the South Australian Parliament, local government and the community".[6]

Eastick is the eldest son of Sir Thomas Charles ("Tom") Eastick.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Family Notices". Saturday Journal. 29 October 1927. p. 29. Retrieved 25 March 2016 – via Trove.
  2. ^ South Australian Government Gazette, 16 May 1963
  3. ^ South Australian Government Gazette, 20 May 1971
  4. ^ South Australian Government Gazette, 16 May 1968
  5. ^ South Australian Government Gazette, 1 April 1993
  6. ^ "Member of the Order of Australia (AM) entry for The Honourable Dr Bruce Charles EASTICK". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 28 January 1996. Retrieved 31 August 2023. In recognition of service to the South Australian Parliament, local government and the community
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Political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition of South Australia
1972–1975
Succeeded by
Parliament of South Australia
Preceded by Member for Light
1970–1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by Speaker of the
South Australian House of Assembly

1979–1982
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Liberal and Country League (SA)
Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division)

1972–1975
Succeeded by
  1. ^ Known as the Liberal and Country League until 22 July 1974