Tom Pyne

Thomas Alfred Pyne (31 January 1935 – 30 October 2011) was an Australian politician. He was the shire chairman of the Shire of Mulgrave from 1979 to 1995, and following the amalgamation of Mulgrave with the City of Cairns, was Mayor of Cairns from 1995 to 2000. His son, Rob Pyne, was a Cairns City Councillor and State Member (Labor and Independent) for Cairns in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.

Professional life and party politics

Pyne was born in Babinda, the youngest of five children. He was educated at the McDonnell's Creek, Bellenden Ker and Hambledon State Schools, and lived for a period at Deeral before moving to Edmonton. He married Marion McKinnon in 1955; they had two children. He worked as a wood machinist with Cairns furniture manufacturer A. H. Kent, and later for Queensland Railways, the Department of Works, and Advanx Tyre and Motor Services. He subsequently opened his own business, Tin-Sang and Co, at Edmonton. Pyne also served in the Royal Queensland Regiment Reserve, attaining the rank of sergeant. Pyne was an opponent of proposed forced council mergers in the early 1990s, including that of Mulgrave with neighboring Cairns, and headed a group of North Queensland councils opposed to the amalgamations. The campaign was unsuccessful, and the Shire of Mulgrave was merged into the City of Cairns in 1995. Pyne was also awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001.

Tom Pyne died in the township of Babinda, south of Cairns, Queensland, on 30 October 2011.