Joseph Vincent Bugler

Bugler first stood successfully for election as a Labor Party alderman of the Enmore Ward of the Municipality of Newtown at the 1 December 1928 municipal elections.^[9][10] On 10 December 1929 he was elected as Deputy Mayor.^[11] On 11 December 1930, he was elected by the dominant Labor caucus as Mayor of Newtown, becoming one of the youngest mayors in Australia at the time.^[12][3] Serving as mayor at the height of the Great Depression, Bugler was involved in various relief efforts to help the less fortunate in Newtown.^[13]

Bugler stood again for re-election at the following municipal election held on 2 January 1932, but was initially unsuccessful having been placed third on the Labor ticket in Enmore Ward, and was defeated by his Deputy Mayor Edward Boland by a margin of 3 votes.^[14][15] However, given the minuscule margin, Bugler requested a recount under the Local Government Act, which was granted and returned a result by which he was successful in the election by a margin of 8 votes over Boland.^[16][17] In July 1933, Bugler gained attention for his unsuccessful attempt to have Newtown Council adopt the use of Advance Australia Fair, to replace the then national anthem, God Save the King, at all official functions.^[18][19] A further motion on this subject from Bugler in September 1934 was also defeated.^[20]

On 5 December 1933, he was re-elected to another term as Deputy Mayor.^[21][22][23] However, at the Labor Party ballot for candidates prior to the December 1934 municipal election, Bugler was defeated in fourth place.^[24][25] Bugler subsequently ran as an Independent, but was nevertheless defeated at the municipal election held on 1 December 1934.^[26][27]

Denied a position by the NSW Branch of the Labor Party, which had been estranged from the Federal Branch since 1931, Bugler joined the Federal Labor Party, and stood as the Federal Labor candidate for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Newtown at the 1935 state election, but was unsuccessful on a margin of 67-32%.^[28][29] At the 1937 and 1941 municipal elections Bugler stood as an independent for Enmore Ward on Newtown Council, but was again unsuccessful.^[30][31][32]

Bugler was eventually successful in being returned as an Independent Alderman to Newtown Council at by-election on 31 October 1942 for Enmore Ward caused by the death of Alderman James Lynch.^[33] He was re-elected at the December 1944 election.^[34][35] At the December 1945 mayoral election, Bugler narrowly lost the mayoralty in a tied 6–6 vote after the Labor candidate drew his name out of a hat.^[36] He again lost the mayoralty on a hat draw to the Labor candidate in December 1947 and July 1948.^[37][38][39]

With the amalgamation of Newtown Council into the City of Sydney to take effect from 1 January 1949, Bugler joined Lillian Fowler and her Lang Labor ticket for the new Newtown Ward of the City Council at the December 1948 election, but was again unsuccessful.^[40][41][42]

Having moved to the north shore suburb of Mosman, Bugler stood for and was elected as an independent alderman for Victoria Ward of the Municipality of North Sydney at the December 1950 election.^[43][44][45] He was re-elected in 1953 and 1956.^[46][47] In December 1957, he was elected as Deputy Mayor.^[48] In December 1958 he was elected mayor, and was elected for a further two terms in December 1959 and December 1960 to December 1961.^[49][50] Bugler was re-elected as a Victoria Ward alderman in 1959, 1962, 1965 and 1968.^{[51][52][53][54]}

Following his final election as an alderman in December 1968, Bugler was elected for a final term as mayor to December 1969.^[55] Bugler retired from North Sydney Council when he did not contest the December 1971 election. North Sydney Council subsequently dedicated a sportsfield in Waverton as the "Joseph Bugler Playing Field".^[56][2]

In the 1973 New Year Honours, Bugler was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for "service to the community".^[57] Bugler died at his Mosman home at the age of 96 on 3 August 1994, survived by his wife Marie, four daughters and a son.^[58]