Cheryl May Crockenberg was born in Pinjarra, Western Australia, in 1947, to Edith May and Frederick Crockenberg, a small business owner. She attended Pinjarra Senor High School before completing a Diploma of Business Studies at Underwood Business College in Perth. Crockenberg joined the Australian Labor Party in 1968, and was secretary of the Mandurah branch from 1971-1973, then later became State Secretary of the Western Australian Branch. She married Philip Davenport in 1975. Cheryl Davenport was elected to
the Legislative Council of the Parliament of Western Australia for South Metropolitan Region in 1989. She was re-elected in 1993, 1996, and retired on 21 May 2001.

Sources used to compile this entry: Black, David and Bolton, Geoffrey (eds), Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia, Vol. 2, 1930-1990, Western Australian Parliamentary History Project, Perth, Western Australia, 1990; Black, David and Phillips, Harry, 'Making a Difference: Women in the West Australian Parliament 1921-1999', Parliament of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 2000; Watson, Judyth [ed.], We Hold Up Half the Sky: The Voices of Western Australian ALP Women in Parliament, Australian Labour Party, Perth, Western Australia, 1994; Cheryl Davenport's page on the Parliament of Western Australia website is at: http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament%5CMemblist.nsf/WAllMembersFlat/Davenport,+Cheryl+May?opendocument [accessed 2009 -11-30].