David Hamer

For the Welsh footballer, see David Hamer (footballer).

David Hamer AM DSC
Member of the Australian Parliament for Isaacs
In office 25 October 1969 – 18 May 1974
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	Gareth Clayton
In office 13 December 1975 – 10 November 1977
Preceded by	Gareth Clayton
Succeeded by	William Burns
Senator for Victoria
In office 1 July 1978 – 30 June 1990
Personal details
Born	5 September 1923(1923-09-05) Melbourne, Victoria
Died	14 January 2002(2002-01-14) (aged 79) Melbourne, Victoria
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Spouse(s)	Barbara May McPherson
Children	3 children, 8 grandchildren
Occupation	Naval Officer, Politician, Author

David John Hamer, AM, DSC (5 September 1923 – 14 January 2002) was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he was educated at Geelong Grammar School and then the Royal Australian Naval College. He served in the Royal Australian Navy from 1940 to 1968. He was a lieutenant aboard HMAS Australia during the battles of Leyte and Lingayen Gulf. He was an honorary aide-de-camp to the Governor-General, Director of Naval Intelligence 1961 from 1963, Captain of HMAS Vampire and Captain of the Australian Destroyer Squadron 1963-65.

In 1969, David was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Liberal member for Isaacs. Narrowly defeated by Labor candidate Gareth Clayton in 1974, he became a political columnist for The Age newspaper and undertook a Master of Arts at Monash University in Constitutional Law, studying the historical role of the Australian Senate. He was re-elected to Isaacs in 1975 but contested the Senate in 1977. He was successful, and remained a Liberal senator for Victoria until his retirement in 1990. A strong supporter of improving the function of the Senate as a house of review, he was Chairman of Committees as well as Deputy President of the Senate (despite being a member of the Opposition) under the Hawke and Keating Labor governments from 1983-1990.

Hamer was also interested in promoting the arts in Australia, helping establish the Arts Council of Victoria, and serving as President of the Arts Council of Australia and of the Australian Film Institute. He was a keen supporter of the establishment of the National Film and Sound Archive as a way to collect and make accessible Australia's rich audiovisual history.

Hamer died in 2002 of leukaemia.

His publications include: The Australian Senate 1901-1918, An Appraisal (1976) Can Responsible Government Survive In Australia? (1994 and 2004) Bombers Versus Battleships - The Struggle Between Ships and Aircraft for Control of the Surface of the Sea(1998)

Hamer's brother was Sir Rupert Hamer (Dick Hamer), the Premier of Victoria 1972-81. His brother Alan has been a Rhodes Scholar, chemist and businessman. His sister Alison (Patrick) was a historian at Melbourne University. In 2004 the Hamer Family Fund was set up in honour of all four siblings and its aims include projects that advance the arts, the environment and good government in Australia.^[1]

References

1. ^ Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia. Retrieved 2008-06-20. 

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by New seat	Member for Isaacs 1969 – 1974	Succeeded by Gareth Clayton
Preceded by Gareth Clayton	Member for Isaacs 1975 – 1977	Succeeded by William Burns

Persondata
Name	Hamer, David John
Alternative names
Short description	Australian politician
Date of birth	5 September 1923
Place of birth	Melbourne, Victoria
Date of death	14 January 2002
Place of death	Melbourne, Victoria