Roger Levinge Dean,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(12 December 1913 – 7 January 1998) was an Australian politician and public servant. He was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 1949 to 1964, representing the New South Wales seat of

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Plac ...

for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. He later served as

Administrator of the Northern Territory The administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the governor-general of Australia to represent the Crown in right of the Northern Territory. They perform functions similar to those of a state governor. Strictly speaking ...

from 1964 to 1970 and as Australia's consul-general in San Francisco from 1970 to 1974.

Early life

Dean was born on 10 December 1913 in

Darlinghurst, New South Wales Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

. He was the son of Freda Mary (née Levinge) and Charles Dean. His father was a pottery manufacturer and company director. Dean's parents moved to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

when he was a young child, where he attended Broughton School and Newcastle Boys' High School. He left school in 1931 and began working as a clerk for Rylands Brothers Pty Ltd, a wire manufacturer. He joined the

Citizen Military Forces The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the military reserve force, reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citize ...

in April 1941 and transferred to the Australian Imperial Force in August 1942. Dean served in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

with the 103rd Anti-Tank Regiment from 1942 to 1944 and was later stationed at

Wewak Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. It is on the northern coast of the island of New Guinea. It is the largest town between Madang and Jayapura. It is the see city (seat) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wewak. ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, with the 8th Docks (Port) Operating Company, part of the

Australian Army Transportation Corps The Australian Army Transportation Corps (AATC) was a corps of the Australian Army that was responsible for various transportation functions including rail, water and terminal/dock operations. Formed in the final days of World War II, the corps ...

. After the war's end, he returned to Rylands Brothers as an administrative officer.

Politics

Dean was secretary of the Mayfield branch of the Liberal Party in the late 1940s. He was elected to the

at the 1949 federal election, winning the seat of

from the incumbent

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

MP Thomas Williams. In parliament, Dean was chair of the Joint Statutory Committee on Public Works from 1962 to 1964. In 1963 he chaired a House select committee into grievances raised in the Yirrkala bark petitions over the treatment of the

Yirrkala Yirrkala is a small community in East Arnhem Region, Northern Territory, Australia, southeast of the large mining town of Nhulunbuy, on the Gove Peninsula in Arnhem Land. Its population comprises predominantly Aboriginal Australians of th ...

people on their

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

reserve in the Northern Territory. The committee unanimously recommended the federal government pay compensation to the Yirrkala over the expropriation of land for an alumina project on the

Gove Peninsula The Gove Peninsula is at the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. The peninsula became strategically important during World War II when a Royal Australian Air Force base was constructed at what is now Gov ...

. Dean spoke frequently in parliament on matters relating to Indigenous Australians and the

Territory of Papua and New Guinea The Territory of Papua and New Guinea , officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea, was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New ...

. He was also an advocate for closer relations between Australia and South-East Asia. He studied the

Malay language Malay ( , ; , Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by Malays (ethnic group), Malays in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula on the mainland Asia. The lang ...

and "regularly entertained South-East Asian students at his

Gosford Gosford is a waterfront city at the northern end of Brisbane Water on the Central Coast in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Gosford Waterfront is known for its boating and scenic views on the shores of Brisbane Water. Gosford is ...

home".

Later career

In 1964, Dean was appointed

by the Menzies government. He accordingly resigned from parliament on 30 September 1964. Dean was the last administrator to serve as ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' president of the

Northern Territory Legislative Council The Northern Territory Legislative Council was the partly elected governing body of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1947 until its replacement by the fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974. Prior to 1947, there h ...

, with the body electing its own president after the 1965 election. As administrator he was credited with the establishment of a tourism body, reforms to

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...

s, and the conferral of greater regulatory powers on the Northern Territory Land Board. He also visited a number of remote Aboriginal communities and was responsible for a major renovation of

Government House, Darwin Government House is the office and official residence of the Administrator of the Northern Territory in Darwin, Australia. Built between 1870 and 1871, with later renovations between 1878 and 1879, the building is set on 13,000 square metres of ...

. In 1964, shortly after his appointment, he attracted attention for his decision to wear shorts on official business. In December 1969, it was announced that Dean would retire as Northern Territory administrator in March 1970 and would instead be posted to the United States as Australia's consul-general in San Francisco. He remained in that role until 1974.

Personal life

In 1950, Dean married Ann Manning, with whom he had two children. Outside of politics he was active in the Food for Babies Fund, the Order of the British Empire Association, and the Australian-American Association. He was a member of the Anglican Synod of New South Wales from 1960 to 1962. Dean retired to Sydney and was widowed in 1982. He died on 7 January 1998 in

Turramurra, New South Wales Turramurra is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. It shares the postc ...

. He had been appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1968.

References

Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Robertson Members of the Australian House of Representatives Administrators of the Northern Territory Consuls-general for Australia in San Francisco Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Newcastle Boys' High School 1913 births 1998 deaths Australian Army personnel of World War II Politicians from Newcastle, New South Wales Australian MPs 1949–1951 Australian MPs 1951–1954 Australian MPs 1954–1955 Australian MPs 1955–1958 Australian MPs 1958–1961 Australian MPs 1961–1963 {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub