Sir Allen Fairhall KBE

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

(24 November 19093 November 2006) was an Australian politician who served in 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 ...

from 1949 to 1969, 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 ...

. He was a government minister under four prime ministers, most notably as Minister for Defence from 1966 to 1969.

Early life

Fairhall was born at

Morpeth, New South Wales Morpeth is a suburb of the city of Maitland in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the southern banks of the Hunter River at the border between the City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council LGAs. The major population c ...

, and attended East Maitland Boys' High School. After school he was apprenticed as an electrical fitter at the Walsh Island Dockyard in

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

, while attending Newcastle Technical College. At the same time he developed an interest in radio and gained an

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communi ...

licence in 1928 (callsign VK2KB), which he held for more than 50 yea

He was able to convince the then

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 ...

that Newcastle needed a second commercial radio station. In 1931 he established 2KO. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he worked on the supply of signals equipment for the Australian armed services. From 1941 to 1944 he was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

of the

City of Newcastle The City of Newcastle is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The City of Newcastle incorporates much of the area of the Newcastle metropolitan area. The Lord Mayor of City of Newcastle Council is Counc ...

Political career

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – ...

, Fairhall entered the Federal Parliament as the Liberal Member for Paterson. He was Minister for Interior and Minister for Works (1956–58), Minister for Supply (1961–66) and Minister for Defence (1966–69). In the latter role, he was responsible for the introduction of the

F-111 The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included ground attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons ...

fighter aircraft and the reintroduction of conscription for the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. The purchase of the F-111 was a major political issue in the late 1960s and early 1970s due to price escalation and late delivery. The

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

retired its last F-111Cs in December 2010. Following the

disappearance of Harold Holt On 17 December 1967, Harold Holt, the Prime Minister of Australia, disappeared while swimming in the sea near Portsea, Victoria. An enormous search operation was mounted in and around Cheviot Beach, but his body was never recovered. Holt was ...

in December 1967, Fairhall had support to nominate for the leadership of the Liberal Party (effectively for the Prime Ministership), but he declined to do so.

Later life

Fairhall retired before the 1969 election. After retirement he wrote a book on

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the ec ...

, ''Towards a New Society''. He was made 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 ...

(KBE) in 1970, received an honorary Doctorate of Science by

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick unive ...

, and was awarded the James N Kirby Medal from the Institution of Production Engineers (Australian Division) and life membership of the Wireless Institute of Australia. He died in November 2006, aged 96.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairhall, Allen 1909 births 2006 deaths Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Paterson Members of the Cabinet of Australia Port Stephens Council People from Maitland, New South Wales Georgist politicians Defence ministers of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Amateur radio people Australian people of World War II