David John Hamer (5 September 1923 – 14 January 2002) was an Australian politician and

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

officer.

Early life and naval career

Born on 5 September 1923, in

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 ...

, he was educated at

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay. Establ ...

and then the

Royal Australian Naval College HMAS Creswell is a training facility of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) that includes the Royal Australian Naval College (RANC) as well as the School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Beecroft Weapons Range, and an administrative support depa ...

. He served in the

from 1940 to 1968. He was a lieutenant aboard during the battles of

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

in October 1944 and

Lingayen Gulf Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central (Luzon), Cordillera Central. The Agno ...

in January 1945. During this time he served as the ''Australias Air Defence Officer. In the rank of acting captain, he was an honorary aide-de-camp to the

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, and director of naval intelligence 1961 from 1963, and after confirmation in the rank of captain, he served as captain of and captain of the Australian Destroyer Squadron 1963–65. Then after serving as director of project coordination in Navy Office, he resigned from the RAN in 1968.

Political career

In 1969, David was elected to the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

as the Liberal member for Isaacs. Narrowly defeated by

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate Gareth Clayton in 1974, he became a political columnist for ''The Age'' newspaper and undertook a Master of Arts at

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

in Constitutional Law, studying the historical role of the Australian Senate. He was re-elected to Isaacs in 1975 but contested the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1977. He was successful, and remained a Liberal senator for Victoria until his retirement in 1990. A strong supporter of improving the function of the Senate as a house of review, he was Chairman of Committees as well as Deputy President of the Senate from 1983–1990. Hamer was also interested in promoting the arts in Australia, helping establish the Arts Council of Victoria, and serving as President of the Arts Council of Australia and of the

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

. He was a keen supporter of the establishment of the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

as a way to collect and make accessible Australia's rich audiovisual history.

Later life, family and legacy

Hamer died of leukaemia on 14 January 2002, aged 78, in Melbourne. His publications include: * ''The Australian Senate 1901–1918, An Appraisal (1976)'';
''Can Responsible Government Survive In Australia?''
(1994); and * ''Bombers Versus Battleships – The Struggle Between Ships and Aircraft for Control of the Surface of the Sea'' (1998) Hamer's brother was Sir Rupert Hamer (Dick Hamer), the

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

1972–81. His brother Alan had been a Rhodes Scholar, chemist and businessman. His sister Alison Patrick was an historian at

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

. In 2004, the Hamer Family Fund was set up in honour of all four siblings and its aims include projects that advance the arts, the environment and good government in Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamer, David 1923 births 2002 deaths People educated at Geelong Grammar School Politicians from Melbourne Military personnel from Melbourne Graduates of the Royal Australian Naval College Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Royal Australian Navy officers Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Isaacs Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Australian MPs 1969–1972 Australian MPs 1972–1974 Australian MPs 1975–1977 Members of the Order of Australia