# Claude Champion

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{{Short description|Australian public servant in Papua New Guinea}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Claude Champion
| image = 160px

| office1 = Official Member of the [Legislative Council](/source/Legislative_Council_of_Papua_and_New_Guinea)
| term1 = 1951–1952, 1959–1961

| birth_date = 30 June 1906
| birth_place = [Port Moresby](/source/Port_Moresby), [Papua](/source/Territory_of_Papua)
| death_date = September 1982
| death_place = [Sydney](/source/Sydney), Australia
}}

'''Claude Champion''' (30 June 1906 – September 1982) was an Australian public servant in Papua New Guinea. He served as a member of the [Legislative Council](/source/Legislative_Council_of_Papua_and_New_Guinea) in two spells between 1951 and 1961.

==Biography==
Born in 1906 to [Herbert Champion](/source/Herbert_William_Champion), who served as Government Secretary of the [Territory of Papua](/source/Territory_of_Papua) from 1913 to 1942, Claude was educated at [the Southport School](/source/the_Southport_School) in Queensland.<ref name=WW>''Who's who in Australia – Volume 17'', p167</ref> Despite being discouraged from joining the civil service by his father, who feared being accused of nepotism,<ref>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/champion-herbert-william-5549 Champion, Herbert William (1880–1972)] Australian Dictionary of Biography</ref> he was appointed a government clerk in 1927, before becoming a [patrol officer](/source/kiap) the following year.<ref name=AP/> During [World War II](/source/World_War_II) he was a member of the [Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit](/source/Australian_New_Guinea_Administrative_Unit) from 1942 to 1946, rising to the rank of major.<ref name=AP/>

Following the war, he was appointed Assistant Government Secretary. While he was acting as Government Secretary in the early 1950s, he was appointed  to the [Legislative Council](/source/Legislative_Council_of_Papua_and_New_Guinea) following the [1951 elections](/source/1951_Papua_New_Guinean_general_election), alongside his brother [Ivan](/source/Ivan_Champion). He remained a member until the following year when [Steven Lonergan](/source/Steven_Lonergan) was appointed as permanent Government Secretary.<ref name=PIM5>[https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-318530811/view?sectionId=nla.obj-331047682&partId=nla.obj-318663505#page/n57/mode/1up P-NG Legislative Council] ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', March 1952, p56</ref> He was awarded the [Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal](/source/Queen_Elizabeth_II_Coronation_Medal) in 1953.<ref>[https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-318817473/view?sectionId=nla.obj-332905751&partId=nla.obj-318857688#page/n21/mode/1up Coronation medals for P-NG residents] ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', July 1953, p20</ref> In 1959 he was appointed Director of Civil Affairs,<ref name=AP>[https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/media/pressrel/HPR01001798/upload_binary/HPR01001798.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22media/pressrel/HPR01001798%22 Two senior appointments in the public service of Papua and New Guinea] Parliament of Australia</ref> and also returned to the Legislative Council, as well as joining the Executive Council.<ref name=WW/>

He retired in 1961 and moved to Australia.<ref name=PIM/> Following his retirement, he joined the Retired Officers Association of Papua New Guinea.<ref name=PIM/> He died in the [Dee Why](/source/Dee_Why) area of [Sydney](/source/Sydney) in September 1982 due to liver failure.<ref name=PIM>[https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-340197007/view?partId=nla.obj-340225304#page/n72/mode/1up Claude Champion] ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', December 1982, p73</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion, Claude}}
Category:1906 births
Category:People from the National Capital District (Papua New Guinea)
Category:People educated at the Southport School
Category:Territory of Papua people
Category:Australian public servants
Category:Papua New Guinean civil servants
Category:Members of the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea
Category:1982 deaths

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