Bill Borthwick

For other people named William Borthwick, see William Borthwick (disambiguation).

William Archibald Borthwick AM (20 November 1924 – 31 July 2001) was an Australian politician. Borthwick was a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the electorates of Scoresby (1960–1967) and Monbulk (1967–1982).^[1]

The Honourable Bill Borthwick AM
Borthwick in 1974
20th Deputy Premier of Victoria
In office 5 June 1981 – 8 April 1982
Premier	Lindsay Thompson
Preceded by	Lindsay Thompson
Succeeded by	Robert Fordham
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Scoresby
In office 17 September 1960 – 20 March 1967
Preceded by	Sir George Knox
Succeeded by	Geoff Hayes
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Monbulk
In office 29 April 1967 – 24 February 1982
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	Neil Pope
Personal details
Born	William Archibald Borthwick (1924-11-20)20 November 1924 Murrayville, Victoria, Australia
Died	31 July 2001(2001-07-31) (aged 76) Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Political party	Liberal Party
Other political affiliations	Liberal and Country Party
Spouse(s)	Dorothy Alice Hackett (m. 1948) Margaret Cameron Manders (m. 1971)
Children	David, Mark and Andrew
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Royal Australian Air Force
Years of service	1942–1945
Rank	Warrant Officer

Early life and military service

Borthwick was born in Murrayville in north-western Victoria, and attended state schools in Cowangie and Walpeup before gaining a scholarship to study at Ballarat Grammar School between 1936 and 1939.^[2] From 1940 to 1957, he was a bank officer for the State Bank of Victoria, then worked as an insurance representative.^[1]

In December 1942, Borthwick enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force.^[3] He served as a fighter pilot in England, Italy and Yugoslavia, and received a special award from the Yugoslavian government for his efforts in protecting Yugoslavia during World War II.^[2]

Political career

Borthwick was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in a September 1960 by-election for the seat of Scoresby triggered by the death of the sitting MP, Sir George Knox. At the 1967 state election, Borthwick switched to the new seat of Monbulk.^[1]

Bill Borthwick made a significant contribution to Victoria's environmental policies through the establishment of the Land Conservation Council in 1971 (now Victorian Environmental Assessment Council) which insulated controversial public land management recommendations from political interference.^[4]

Honours

In the 1987 Queen's Birthday honours, Borthwick was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of service to the Victorian parliament and to the community.^[5]