Sir Alexander Russell "Alick" Downer (7 April 1910 – 30 March 1981) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was a member of the

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

between 1949 and 1963, representing 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

, and served as Minister for Immigration in the Menzies Government. He was later High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1972.

Family, early life and career

Downer was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

as a member of the influential Downer family. His father,

Sir John Downer Sir John William Downer, KCMG, KC (6 July 1843 – 2 August 1915) was an Australian politician who served two terms as Premier of South Australia, from 1885 to 1887 and again from 1892 to 1893. He later entered federal politics and served a ...

, was a

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier ...

and a member of the Australian Senate. His mother was Una Russell, daughter of

Henry Chamberlain Russell Henry Chamberlain Russell (17 March 1836 – 22 February 1907) was an Australian astronomer and meteorologist. Early life Russell was born at West Maitland, New South Wales, the fourth son of the Hon. Bourn Russell and his wife Jane, ''n� ...

, who remarried when Alick was eight, to D’Arcy Wentworth Addison. Sir Alick's son,

Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United K ...

, also a Liberal politician, was Leader of the Opposition 1994–95 and Foreign Minister of Australia 1996–2007. He was educated at

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is an Independent school, independent Anglican co-educational Boarding school, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio, Victoria, Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, ...

and at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

, where he graduated in economics and political science. He was the godfather of

Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, (born 20 May 1964), styled Viscount Althorp between 1975 and 1992, is a British peer, author, journalist, and broadcaster. He is the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and is the mater ...

, brother of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Earl's godmother was

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. After graduating from Oxford in 1932 he read law in London, and in 1934 he was admitted to the bar at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

. Returning to Adelaide, he joined the South Australian Bar in 1935. He practised as a barrister until joining the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

in 1940. He served in Malaya and was a prisoner-of-war for three years, where he set up a camp library and gave lessons to other prisoners. He was promoted to sergeant due to these efforts, but the promotion was not recognised upon his release. His book ''Six prime ministers'' (

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a ...

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in ...

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, (9 June 1888 – 18 August 1973), styled Sir Basil Brooke, 5th Baronet between 1907 and 1952, was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician and paramilitary leader who became the third Prime ...

) was published in 1982.

Political career

After the war, Downer joined the newly formed

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Aus ...

, and in 1949 he was elected to the

for the rural-based Division of Angas. By invitation of the premier, Thomas Playford, he joined the board of the

Electricity Trust of South Australia The Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA) was the South Australian Government-owned monopoly vertically integrated electricity provider from 1946 until its privatisation in 1999. Precursors Early days (1882–1900) Charles Todd, an ea ...

for three years and the Art Gallery board where he remained for seventeen years until his appointment as High Commissioner. He served as Minister for Immigration from 1958 to 1963. One of his first acts was to oversee the passage of the ''

Migration Act 1958 The ''Migration Act 1958'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that governs immigration to Australia. It set up Australia’s universal visa system (or entry permits). Its long title is "An Act relating to the entry into, and pres ...

'', which replaced the earlier ''

Immigration Restriction Act 1901 The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which limited immigration to Australia and formed the basis of the White Australia policy which sought to exclude all non-Europeans from Australia. The law granted i ...

'' that had formed the basis of the

White Australia policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting ...

. During his term in office, reforms to migration laws led to the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants, mostly from Britain and Europe, where new recruitment posts had been created. Many refugees were also accepted. As a result of his experience as a prisoner of war, he arranged for non-criminal deportees to be held in detention centres instead of being sent to jail.

Diplomatic career

He retired from Parliament upon his appointment as Australian High Commissioner in London, a position he held until 1972. The building of the High Commission, Australia House, has a Downer Room on the first floor, named in his honour. Downer was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1965 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1965 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate t ...

. He was made a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

in 1965. Downer actively lobbied both the prime minister,

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, ...

, and the British government directly, for a peerage of the UK Parliament. McMahon wrote to 10 Downing Street with a proposal, but it was declined. Downer was reportedly "very bitter" about this rejection.

Personal life

On 23 April 1947, he married Mary Gosse, daughter of Sir James Gosse, whom he had met at a cocktail party in Adelaide. Together they had four children, Stella Mary (born 1948), Angela (born 1949),

(born 1951), who would later serve as the leader of the Liberal Party (1994 to 1995) and Minister for Foreign Affairs under the Howard government, and Una Joanna (born 1955).

Arbury Park

In 1923, Downer bought the property known as Raywood in the Adelaide Hills, which he renamed Arbury Park after Arbury Hall, near Nuneaton,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

where his friends the Newdigate family lived. He was responsible for the construction of the large Georgian mansion and extensive formal gardens and deer park,Album
/ref> "which was important to his concept of the property as an English estate". The property, after reversion to its former name when bought by the state government in 1965, is

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ...

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence.

Electoral History

Federal

House of Representatives

References

External links

The Alexander Downer Archival Collection at the University of South Australia Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downer, Alexander Sr. 1910 births 1981 deaths Australian people of English descent Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Cabinet of Australia Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Angas Members of the Australian House of Representatives People educated at Geelong Grammar School Politicians from Adelaide Alick High Commissioners of Australia to the United Kingdom Permanent Representatives of Australia to the International Maritime Organization 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Australian prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Japan