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The Hon. Robert (Bob) Carl Katter (b. 1945)
Member for Kennedy 13 March 1993—
National Party of Australia 13 March 1993 – 8 July 2001
Independent 8 July 2001 – 29 September 2011
Katter’s Australian Party 27 July 2011—
For more than half a century, Bob Katter has represented regional Queensland constituencies, in State and then Federal Parliament.1 Alongside being one of Australia’s most enduring parliamentarians, he is also one of its most iconic, especially through his recognisable Akubra hat.
Born in Cloncurry, Queensland, Katter was ‘brought up to be sincere, to love one’s country deeply, to be good to people less fortunate than oneself and to understand that one’s ultimate responsibility was always to God’.2 He served as a Second Lieutenant in the Citizen Military Forces (Army Reserve) and was also a branch President of the Young Nationals. Katter was subsequently elected to represent Flinders in the 1974 Queensland elections, where he joined Joh Bjelke Petersen’s National Party government. Promoted to the ministry in late-1983, he came to manage portfolios spanning Northern and Regional Development; Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Ethnic Affairs; Community Services; Mines and Energy.
Katter retired from state parliament in August 1992 to contest the federal seat of Kennedy the following March. His successful election saw him follow in his father’s footsteps, who represented Kennedy for more than 23 years from 1966 to 1990. Katter’s parliamentary roles included service across multiple committees, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs; Employment, Education and Workplace Relations; Industry; Resources and Regional Affairs.
Disagreement with the Coalition government’s economic policies led Katter to move to the crossbench as an Independent in July 2001. He then established Katter’s Australian Party in 2011. Katter’s Party has also been represented in the Queensland Parliament, including through his son Robbie, who was first elected in 2012.3
During his career, Katter has sponsored 45 Private Members’ Bills and published two books: on Australian history and an autobiography.4
David Darcy
David Darcy (born 1972) is a multidisciplinary self-taught artist born in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales and living and working in Murrurundi, New South Wales. He began his career as a photographer working on film sets and producing photographic publications. He was the stills photographer on the movies Red Dog (2011) and Red Dog: True Blue (2016). Darcy’s work is characterised by its deeply humanistic and hyperrealist nature, often focused on rural and regional Australians. His work is shaped by a strong sense of place and community, particularly in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales. His subjects depict not just a likeness, but a narrative of their life and work. Darcy took up painting in 2017 and has since established himself as a contemporary portraitist. He has won numerous awards including the National Photographic Portrait Prize People’s Choice Award in 2016 and the People’s Choice/ Highly Commended awards in the Darling Portrait Prize in 2020. He was an Archibald Prize finalist in 2018, with his portrait of Murrurundi local, Charlotte Drake-Brockman. In 2019 his portrait of Daisy Tjuparntarri Ward, Warakurna and Ngaanyatjarra elder, won the Archibald Prize People’s Choice Award. Darcy has been a finalist in numerous prizes including the National Photographic Portrait Prize (2016, 2017, 2022, 2023), the Doug Moran Portrait Prize (2019), and the Lester Portrait Prize (2021). His work is held in private and public collections both nationally and internationally.
The Hon Bob Katter MP
by David Darcy
2025
oil on linen
163 x 122 cm
Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Art Collections
References
1. Information contained within this biography is predominantly derived from The Parliamentary Handbook.
2. Bob Katter, ‘Governor-General’s speech’, House of Representatives, Hansard, 6 May 1993.
3. Mr Robert (Robbie) Katter, Member Details, Queensland Parliament, website.
4. An incredible race of people: a passionate history of Australia (Millers Point, NSW: Murdoch Books Australia, 2012); Conversations with Bob Katter: on politics, life and the things that matter (Chatswood, NSW: New Holland, 2017).
5. Information in this biography has been taken from the following: David Darcy Studio. Accessed October 2025 via: About - David Darcy studio