Allan James Myers (born 17 October 1947) is an Australian barrister, academic, businessman, landowner and philanthropist, and the previous Chancellor of 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 ...

Early life and education

Allan Myers was born in 1947 in

Hamilton, Victoria Hamilton is a city in south-western Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia, at the intersection of the Glenelg Highway and the Henty Highway. The Hamilton Highway connects it to Geelong. Hamilton is in the Australian House of Representatives, ...

. He was raised in

Dunkeld, Victoria Dunkeld is a town in Victoria, Australia, at the southern end of the Grampians National Park, in the Shire of Southern Grampians. It is approx 283 km west of Melbourne on the Glenelg Highway. The town's population is holding steady but agin ...

, where his father, John Norman Myers, worked as a butcher following his service as a stoker in the

Royal Australian Navy Reserve The Royal Australian Naval Reserve (RANR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Australian Navy in Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Austra ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He has five siblings. He graduated from the

, where he received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, and resided at Newman College. He was editor of the ''

Melbourne University Law Review The ''Melbourne University Law Review'' is a triannual law journal published by a student group at Melbourne Law School covering all areas of law. It is one of the student-run law journals at the University of Melbourne and is widely regarded as ...

'' from 1967 to 1969. He received the Supreme Court Prize in 1969. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Civil Law from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, 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 List of oldest un ...

Career

Legal career

He became a lawyer in 1971. He taught as a tutor at the

Melbourne Law School Melbourne Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of the University of Melbourne. Located in Carlton, Victoria, Melbourne Law School is Australia's oldest law school, and offers Juris Doctor, J.D., Master of Laws, LL.M, Doctor of P ...

. He later taught at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada, from 1972 to 1974. He returned to the University of Melbourne in 1974, where he taught Security Law and Taxation Law from 1974 to 1988. He served as Assistant Editor of the ''Australian Taxation Law Review''. He was admitted to the

Victorian Bar The Victorian Bar is the bar association of the Australian State of Victoria. The 2024-2025 President of the Bar is Justin Hannebery KC. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. Those who have been admitted to practice ...

in 1975 and took Silk in 1986. He serves on the advisory council of the Oxford University Law Foundation. He has represented

George Pell George Pell (8 June 1941 – 10 January 2023) was an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 2002, he faced recurring accusations of sexual abuse, although his subsequent sexual abuse conviction was quashed on appeal to the High Cour ...

Kerry Stokes Kerry Matthew Stokes (born John Patrick Alford on 13 September 1940) is an Australian businessman. He holds business interests in industries including electronic and print media, property, mining and construction equipment. He is most widely k ...

, Lloyd Williams,

Alan Bond Alan Bond (22 April 1938 – 5 June 2015) was an English-born Australian businessman noted for his high-profile and often corrupt business dealings. These included his central role in the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s; the biggest corporate co ...

, John Elliott,

Andrew Forrest John Andrew Henry Forrest (born 18 November 1961), nicknamed Twiggy, is an Australian businessman. He is best known as the former CEO (and current non-executive chairman) of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), and has other interests in the mining ...

and

Gina Rinehart Georgina Hope Rinehart (, born 9 February 1954) is an Australian heiress, billionaire mining magnate and businesswoman. She is the executive chairwoman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company foun ...

as well as

Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...

and

BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

Business career

He sits on the board of directors of Grupa Żywiec, a Polish brewery in which he is now a small shareholder, alongside investor John Higgins. He serves on the board of directors of Norinvest Holding, a Swiss financial corporation, and owns the Royal Mail Hotel, a restaurant in

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...

, and the Dunkeld Pastoral Company, as well as around Dunkeld. He also owns land in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

and the

Tipperary Station Tipperary Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station. It is located about east of Daly River and south of Adelaide River, Northern Territory, Australia. Composed primarily of open grazing land, the property occupies an area ...

near

Adelaide River The Adelaide River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia. Course and features The river rises in the Litchfield National Park and flows generally northwards to Clarence Strait, joined by eight tributaries including the west branc ...

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 ...

, which he purchased from businessman Warren Anderson.

Philanthropy and other roles

He is a former president of the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

(NGV), to which he has made significant contributions. In 2013, he donated 10 million to his alma mater, the University of Melbourne. Additionally, he served as chairman of its BELIEVE fundraising campaign. He has served on the Boards of Trustees of the Alfred Felton Bequest, the Catholic Education Commission, the Monivae College Foundation, the

Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, more commonly known as The Florey, is an Australian medical research institute that undertakes research into treatments for brain and mind disorders. Named after Adelaide-born pharmacologi ...

, the Ian Potter Foundation, and the Newman College Foundation. He has also donated to the University of Oxford. He helped found the Grattan Institute, a non-partisan public policy think tank, and serves as its chairman. He was a member of Liberty Victoria, formerly known as the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties. He joined the board of the

Minderoo Foundation The Minderoo Foundation is an Australian charity organisation. History In 2001, Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', " ...

in 2014 and became its chairman in 2024. Myers endowed the ''Allan Myers Oxford University Scholarships'', enabling students at the University of Melbourne to attend the University of Oxford. He received an Honorary Doctor of the University from the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation ...

and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from his alma mater, the University of Melbourne. Myers served as

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the University of Melbourne, from 2017 to December 2022. He and Maria Myers are two of the donors to the trust that funds the Peter Steele Poetry Award, a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

available to PhD students in the Faculty of Arts at the university.

Personal life

Allen Myers is married to Maria Myers , and they live in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton. They have two daughters, Clare and Cecilia, and one son, John. Myers is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and a member of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

Net worth

Honours

Myers was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

in 2001 for his philanthropic and business achievements. In 2016 he was appointed

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for "eminent service to the community through philanthropic leadership in support of major visual arts, higher education, medical research and not-for-profit organisations, to the law, and to professional learning programs". His wife, Maria, was appointed a Companion on the same day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Allan 1947 births Living people University of Melbourne alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Australian King's Counsel Australian philanthropists Australian Roman Catholics Officers of the Order of Australia Businesspeople from Melbourne Companions of the Order of Australia People from Hamilton, Victoria Chancellors of the University of Melbourne