Richard Gun

{{Short description|Australian politician and doctor}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}} {{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = Dr | name = Richard Gun | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|AO}} | image = Richard Gun 1973.jpg | caption = Gun in 1973 | constituency_MP = Kingston | parliament = Australian | majority = | predecessor = Kay Brownbill | successor = Grant Chapman | term_start = 25 October 1969 | term_end = 11 November 1975 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1936|5|27}} | birth_place = Adelaide, South Australia | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = | party = Australian Labor Party | relations = | children = | alma_mater = University of Adelaide | occupation = | profession = Doctor | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Richard Townsend "Richie/Ritchie" Gun''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|AO}} (born 27 May 1936) is a retired politician and doctor.

Born in Adelaide, South Australia, he was educated at St Peter's College and the University of Adelaide. He was on the anaesthetics registrar at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

==Political career== In 1969 he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Kingston, defeating Liberal MP Kay Brownbill. He held the seat until 1975, when he was defeated by the Liberal candidate, Grant Chapman, with a swing of over 12 percent. He unsuccessfully attempted to retake the seat at the next two elections, the second time losing by only 358 votes.<ref name=Psephos>{{cite web |last=Carr|first=Adam |title=Australian Election Archive |work=Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive |url=http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia |year=2008 |accessdate=7 November 2008}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=February 2018}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article125630158 |title=Liberals win Kingston - Chapman gains an absolute majority |work= The Canberra Times |date=28 Oct 1980 |via=Trove |access-date=7 June 2016}}</ref>

==Medical career== thumb|left|Gun in 2015. Gun began his work in occupational medicine in the 1970s. He was one of the founding members of the College of Occupational Medicine, now known as the Australasian Faculty of Occupational Medicine.<ref name=Advertiser/>

In 1983 Gun was appointed chair of the Commonwealth Government's Interim National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. The Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations (Ralph Willis) quoted his qualifications as: :"a medical practitioner who is currently a Visiting Scientist with the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. From his previous position as a Senior Medical Officer in the Occupational Health Branch of the South Australian Health Commission, Dr Gun has a long involvement with, and knowledge of, occupational health in Australia. This, together with his relevant international experience, will bring to the Interim National Commission a most valuable contribution."<ref>[http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;page=0;query=Richard%20Gun;rec=6;resCount=Default Occupational Health and Safety - Ministerial Statement], 10 November 1983, Hansard, pg. 2588</ref>

In 1990 when he was a senior lecturer in occupational and environmental health at the University of Adelaide he published the results of a study which suggested that the incidence of repetitive strain injury (RSI) was declining in South Australia.<ref>[http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;page=0;query=Richard%20Gun;rec=5;resCount=Default Questions without notice - repetitive strain injury], 16 October 1990, Hansard, pg. 3108</ref>

==Honours and awards== In 2015 Gun was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia "for distinguished service to medicine, particularly in the field of occupational health and safety, and to socially disadvantaged communities in regional Australia and Timor-Leste".<ref>[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1151759 Officer of the Order of Australia] (AO), 8 June 2015, It's an Honour.</ref><ref name=Advertiser>[http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/queens-birthday-honours-list-for-2015-in-south-australia/news-story/20e1a4389392f7f7ca740e86e76c422f Caring pioneer of Health at Work] in "Queen’s Birthday Honours list for 2015 in South Australia", 8 June 2015, The Advertiser</ref>

==Other interests== As a teenager, Gun was a jazz musician of some local celebrity, leader of "Richie Gun's Collegians", a King Oliver / Louis Armstrong inspired band, and has been credited with giving Ted Nettelbeck his first experience in public performance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58bf64e6c534a5e3ac61401d/t/61ce2aad63b5977a0fc8ab2a/1640901297833/elhayschmoetednettelbeck.pdf |title=Ted Nettelbeck: He Tested Positive for Jazz |author=Sylvan Elhay |access-date=9 November 2023}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|au}} {{succession box | title=Member for Kingston | before=Kay Brownbill| after=Grant Chapman| years=1969–1975}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gun, Richard}} Category:1936 births Category:Living people Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Kingston Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives Category:Officers of the Order of Australia Category:People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Category:Australian MPs 1969–1972 Category:Australian MPs 1972–1974 Category:Australian MPs 1974–1975