Dallas Brooks

General Sir Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks GCMG, KCB, KCVO, DSO, KStJ (22 August 1896 – 22 March 1966) was the 19th Governor of Victoria. He was educated in England at Dover College from 1911 to 1914 and he took part in the Zeebrugge Raid in 1918 for which he was awarded a Distinguished Service Order. He was appointed by Premier Thomas Hollway and served between 1949 and 1963. Prior to becoming Governor he was a General in the Royal Marines.

As a Cricketer

Reginald Brooks

Personal information
Full name	Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks
Born	2 August 1896(1896-08-02) Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Died	22 March 1966(1966-03-22) (aged 69) Frankston, Victoria, Australia
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm medium
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1919–1921	Hampshire
Career statistics
Competition	FC
Matches	29
Runs scored	1,070
Batting average	20.57
100s/50s	2/3
Top score	143
Balls bowled	1,942
Wickets	38
Bowling average	28.73
5 wickets in innings	1
10 wickets in match	–
Best bowling	8/90
Catches/stumpings	15/–
Source: Cricinfo, 1 February 2010

Brooks made his first-class debut for the Royal Navy against Cambridge University in 1919 as a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm medium. The same season Brooks made his debut for Hampshire against Surrey in the County Championship. Brooks represented Hampshire eight times in the 1919, making his maiden first-class century against Gloucestershire with a score of 107.

Brooks represented Hampshire in nine first-class matches between 1919 and 1921, with his final first-class appearance for the county coming against Middlesex. Brooks scored 244 runs for Hampshire at a batting average of 16.26, with one century and one half century and a high score of 107.

In 1920 Brooks made his second first-class century, this time for the Royal Navy against the Army, which gave Brooks his highest first-class score of 143. Brooks played as an all-rounder for the Royal Navy, a role he did not fill at Hampshire.

In all Brooks represented the Royal Navy in sixteen first-class matches, with his final appearance for them coming against the Royal Air Force in 1929. In his sixteen matches for the Royal Navy, Brooks scored 690 runs at a batting average of 23.00, with one half century and two half centuries and a high score of 143. With the ball Brooks took 38 wickets at a bowling average of 27.63, with one five wicket haul which gave Brooks his career best figures of 8/90.

Additionally, Brooks represented the Combined Services with four first-class matches.

As the Governor of Victoria

The Honourable Sir Dallas Brooks GCMG, KCB, KCVO, DSO, KStJ
19th Governor of Victoria
In office 18 October 1949 – 7 May 1963
Monarch	King George VI (1949–1952) Queen Elizabeth II (1952–1963)
Preceded by	Sir Winston Dugan
Succeeded by	Sir Rohan Delacombe
Personal details
Born	Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks 22 August 1896(1896-08-22) Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom
Died	22 March 1966(1966-03-22) (aged 69) Frankston, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Muriel Violet Turner Laing
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Marines
Years of service	1914–1949
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Battle of Gallipoli
Awards	Distinguished Service Order (1918)

From time to time during his term as Governor of Victoria he acted as Administrator of the Commonwealth. He served in this capacity for almost seven months after the Governor-General Viscount Dunrossil suddenly died in office in 1961 after serving only one year. Sir Dallas was in effect Acting Governor-General until the appointment of the Viscount De L'Isle.

He was Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria (Masonic Lodge or Freemasons) from 1951–1963.^[1] He was Victoria's longest serving Masonic Grand Master. In 1969 the United Grand Lodge of Victoria built a concert hall in East Melbourne and named it the Dallas Brooks Hall. The Hall was renamed in 1993 from the Dallas Brooks Hall to the Dallas Brooks Centre and is still a major events venue in Melbourne.

The Melbourne suburb of Dallas was named after Sir Dallas, as well as Dallas Brooks Drive in Kings Domain. The official residence of the Governor of Victoria, Government House, is located on the corner of Birdwood Avenue and Dallas Brooks Drive.

He was the grandfather of Jennifer Byrne, former journalist at The Age, a former reporter on 60 Minutes and currently the presenter of the First Tuesday Book Club on ABC TV in Australia.

Government offices
Preceded by Sir Winston Dugan	Governor of Victoria 1949–1963	Succeeded by Sir Rohan Delacombe

References

1. ^ Kent Henderson, The Masonic Grand Masters of Australia, Ian Drakeford Publishing, Bayswater, 1988, pp.194–195

• Profile
• Reginald Brooks at Cricinfo
• Reginald Brooks at CricketArchive
• Matches and detailed statistics for Reginald Brooks

Persondata
Name	Brooks, Dallas
Alternative names	Brooks, Reginals
Short description
Date of birth	22 August 1896
Place of birth	Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom
Date of death	22 March 1966
Place of death	Frankston, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia