Robert Cook (Australian politician)

Robert Cook (18 April 1867 – 21 May 1930) was an Australian politician.

Early life

Cook was born at Chiltern, Victoria to English splitter Henry Cook and his Irish wife Mary, née Wilkinson. He received little formal education and was soon a land-owner, owning land at Tallangatta and Porepunkah. He married Sarah Anne Weston on 24 December 1894 at Porepunkah; in 1905, they moved to Oxley and established a dairy farm.

Local politics

Cook was a member of Chiltern Shire Council 1902-04, and was elected to Oxley Shire Council in 1908, being its president 1910-11 and 1916-17. He became one of the most active public figures in the Wangaratta district, founding the North-Eastern Co-operative Society Ltd in 1906. He was also a director of the Milawa Dairy Co and chairman of the Butter and Chesse Factories Association of Victoria, and held membership of the Victorian Dairy Council, the Western and Murray Co-operative Bacon and Meat Packing Co, the Wangaratta Agricultural Society, and the Melbourne Chamber of Agriculture.

Federal politics

Cook entered the Australian House of Representatives in 1919 as the Country Party member for Indi, defeating sitting member John Leckie. He held the seat until 1928, when he mistakenly failed to lodge his nomination paper. He failed in an attempt to regain the seat in 1929.

Cook's health deteriorated until he died in Melbourne on 21 May 1930, survived by three daughters and two sons. His wife Sarah had died on 26 June 1927. Cook was buried at the local cemetery at Milawa.

References

• Smith, A.O. (1981). "Cook, Robert (1867 - 1930)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080109b.htm.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-16.