# Bernie Dunn

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{{Short description|Australian politician (1944–2018)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}}
'''Bernard Phillip Dunn''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}} (19 August 1944 – 15 June 2018) was an Australian politician and farmer.

Dunn was born in [Warracknabeal](/source/Warracknabeal) to farmer Donald Panther Dunn and Leila Edna. He attended local state schools and was a wheat and sheep farmer in the Warracknabeal region. On 20 December 1962, he married Dorothy Eileen Hayes; they had five children.

A member of the [Country Party](/source/National_Party_of_Australia_%E2%80%93_Victoria), he was state vice-president of the Young Country Party from 1968 to 1969, at which time he was also vice-president of the [Lowan district](/source/Electoral_district_of_Lowan) council. In 1969 he was elected to the [Victorian Legislative Council](/source/Victorian_Legislative_Council) as the member for [North Western Province](/source/North_Western_Province_(Victoria)).<ref name=parl>{{Cite Parliament of Victoria Member Profile |name=Bernard Phillip Dunn |id=bernard-dunn |access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref> In 1976, he became deputy leader in the Council of the newly renamed National Party, and leader in 1979, at which time he also became the shadow minister for education.

He initially retired from state politics in 1988, but was state president of the National Party from 1990 to 1995. In 1997, he was elected to [Horsham Rural City Council](/source/Rural_City_of_Horsham), serving until 2005, including periods as mayor from 1998 to 2000 and from 2003 to 2004. In 2001, Dunn was awarded life membership of the Victorian National Party.<ref name=vic>{{Cite web |url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/re-member/bioregfull.cfm?mid=1032 |title=Dunn, Bernard Phillip |access-date=26 October 2014 |archive-date=2 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002045530/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/re-member/bioregfull.cfm?mid=1032 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

After their first son died of [leukaemia](/source/leukaemia) in 1972, at the age of 7½, Dunn and his wife founded the Leukaemia Auxiliary of the [Royal Children's Hospital](/source/Royal_Children's_Hospital) (LARCH). He was made a life member of the hospital for their contribution.<ref name=vale>{{cite news |title=Vale Bernie Dunn, 1944-2018 |url=https://www.mailtimes.com.au/story/5587732/life-of-remarkable-service/ |access-date=2019-06-02 |work=Wimmera Mail-Times |date=2018-08-17}}</ref>

Dunn was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the [2007 Queen's Birthday Honours](/source/2007_Queen's_Birthday_Honours_(Australia)) "for service to the Victorian Parliament, local government, the agriculture sector and the community of Horsham".<ref>{{cite web|title=DUNN, Bernard Phillip|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1134911|website=Australian Honours Search Facility, Dept of Prime Minister & Cabinet|access-date=9 February 2018}}</ref>  He died of cancer on 15 June 2018. His wife pre-deceased him in 2011. They left four children.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grimble |first1=Jessica |title='He was a giant of a man and a mayor': Wimmera leader Bernie Dunn loses battle with cancer |url=https://www.mailtimes.com.au/story/5469981/he-was-a-giant-of-a-man-and-a-mayor-wimmera-leader-bernie-dunn-loses-battle-with-cancer/?cs=225 |access-date=2019-06-02 |work=Wimmera Mail-Times |date=2018-06-15}}</ref><ref name=vale/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au-vic-lc}}
{{s-bef|before=[Percy Byrnes](/source/Percy_Byrnes)}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [North Western](/source/North_Western_Province_(Victoria)) | years=1969–1988 | alongside=[Arthur Mansell](/source/Arthur_Mansell); [Ken Wright](/source/Ken_Wright_(politician))}}
{{s-aft|after=[Ron Best](/source/Ron_Best)}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Bernie}}
Category:1944 births
Category:2018 deaths
Category:National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria
Category:Members of the Victorian Legislative Council
Category:Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Category:People from Warracknabeal
Category:20th-century Australian farmers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bernie Dunn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Dunn) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Dunn?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.