Sir Alan Thomas Carmody (8 September 1920 – 12 April 1978) was an Australian public servant and government official, who was knighted for his contributions.

Background and early career

Carmody was born at Malvern, a suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. His father, Thomas Carmody, worked as a telephone mechanic for the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

and was later awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and Bar for bravery in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Alan Carmody attended St Patrick's College, ,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. Aged 16, he joined the

Commonwealth Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the Gov ...

on 18 March 1937 as a clerk for the Department of Trade and Customs in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. Carmody enlisted in 1940 in the Citizen Air Force of the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

. He was commissioned in February 1943, serving as a radar officer and was

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...

in 1945. He studied at the

Canberra University College Canberra University College was a tertiary education institution established in Canberra by the Australian government and the University of Melbourne in 1930. At first it operated in the Telopea Park School premises after hours. Most of the init ...

and graduated from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

with degrees in arts (1946), commerce (1947) and a Masters of Commerce (1950).

Public service career

During various stages of Carmody's career, he worked within the

Department of Trade and Customs The Department of Trade and Customs was an Government of Australia, Australian government department that existed between 1901 and 1956. It was one of the inaugural government departments of Australia established at Federation of Australia, fede ...

; the tariff board; the department of trade where he was deputy-secretary; the department of customs and excise as comptroller-general; the department of customs and excise (later Department of Police and Customs) as head; the

Department of Business and Consumer Affairs The Department of Business and Consumer Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between December 1975 and May 1982. Scope Information about the department's functions and government funding allocation could be fou ...

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

and

of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. In 1975, Carmody pushed for the establishment of an agency to be known as the Australia Police, which he would have headed initially, formed by combining the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

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 ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

police forces, roughly modelled on the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

. The force would have dealt with smuggling and

white-collar crime The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. The crimes are believed to be committed by middle- or upper-class indivi ...

. The project never came to pass for political reasons.

Awards and honours

In 1964, Carmody was appointed an Officer 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 ...

, that was upgraded to a Companion of the Order in 1971. In 1977, Carmody was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in recognition of service to the public service. In 2008, a street in the

suburb of Casey was named Carmody Street in Alan Carmody's honour.

Personal

A practising

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, Carmody married Elizabeth Mary Brennan in St Patrick's Catholic Church,

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, on 25 October 1944. Together they had five children: two daughters and three sons. Carmody died suddenly from coronary vascular disease on 12 April 1978, aged 57, at his Canberra home, while still serving as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. After a service at St Christopher's Cathedral, he was interred in Canberra.

Background and early career

Public service career

Awards and honours

Personal

References

Further reading