Rupert Hamer
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sir Rupert James "Dick" Hamer, (29 July 1916 – 23 March 2004) was an Australian politician who served as the 39th
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 ...
from 1972 to 1981, and prior to that, the 18th deputy premier of Victoria from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Victorian division of the
Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...
(LPA) and a member of the
Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...
(MLA) for the district of
Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
.


Early years

Hamer was born 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 ...
to Elizabeth Anne McLuckie and Hubert Hamer, a solicitor. His three siblings all achieved success in their fields: his sister was Alison Patrick (1921–2009), an internationally known historian of the French Revolution; his brothers were David Hamer (1923–2002), a federal Liberal politician, and Alan, a Rhodes Scholar, chemist and managing director of ICI Australia. Hamer was educated at
Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...
and
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 graduated in law 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 ...
, where he was resident at Trinity College from 1936. He was a member, with his brother Alan, of the College First XVIII Australian Rules football team, and was Secretary of the Student Club. He joined the
Melbourne University Regiment The Melbourne University Regiment (MUR) is an officer training unit in the Australian Army Reserve (ARes). It has a depot at Grattan Street, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia. History MUR traces its origins to 1884 as D Company, 4th Battalion of ...
of the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is 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 ...
in 1935 and served with them until 1939. He was commissioned as an officer in August 1940 in 2nd/43rd Battalion AIF and served at
Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclopà ...
,
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, El Alamein,
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
and in
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
. He was
Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...
in 1945 for "distinguished service in the South-West Pacific". After the war he became a partner in his family's law firm and was active in 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. For example, while the political systems ...
. In 1944 he married April Mackintosh, with whom he had five children. He continued his military service and remained active in the
Citizens Military Force The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...
joining
the Victorian Scottish Regiment The Victorian Scottish Regiment (VSR) was an infantry regiment of the Australian Army. Formed in 1898 as a volunteer unit of the colonial Victorian Military Forces, the unit went through a number of changes in name over the course of its 62-year hi ...
in 1948, of which he was Commanding Officer from 1954 to 1958.


Parliamentary career

Hamer was elected to the
Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...
for
East Yarra Province East Yarra Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Leg ...
in 1958. He was appointed to the cabinet of the Premier,
Henry Bolte Sir Henry Edward Bolte ( ; 20 May 1908 – 4 January 1990) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th premier of Victoria from 1955 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party of Australia ...
, in 1962, becoming Assistant Chief Secretary. He was Minister for Local Government from 1964 to 1971. After Deputy Premier
Arthur Rylah Sir Arthur Gordon Rylah, (3 October 190920 September 1974) was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1955 to 1971. Background Rylah was born in Kew, Melbourne, the son of Walter Robert Rylah, a solic ...
's retirement, Hamer was elected in a by-election for Rylah's Legislative Assembly seat of
Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
in eastern Melbourne. He immediately assumed Rylah's portfolios of Deputy Premier and Chief Secretary. Although he was loyal to Bolte, he had a reputation for being much more liberal than his rough-edged conservative leader.


Premier of Victoria

By the 1970s, the Liberal government was losing its appeal to younger, urban voters in Melbourne. Realizing that the Liberals had a year at most to retool their image before a statutory general election, Bolte retired in 1972 and endorsed Hamer as his successor. Despite opposition from the conservative wing of the party, Bolte's support was enough for Hamer to prevail in the ensuing leadership ballot, and he was sworn in as premier on 23 August. Hamer represented such a sharp change from the Bolte era that he was able to campaign in the 1973 election as a new, reformist leader, despite the fact that the Liberals had been in power for 18 years. Employing the slogan "''Hamer Makes It Happen''", he won a landslide against the
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 ...
opposition under Clyde Holding, increasing his party's already large majority. He won an even larger victory in 1976, defeating Holding yet again. Hamer, assisted by key allies such as Planning Minister Alan Hunt, Conservation Minister Bill Borthwick, Attorney-General Haddon Storey, Social Welfare Minister Vasey Houghton, Housing and Youth Sport and Recreation Minister Brian Dixon and Community Welfare Services Minister Walter Jona moved to modernise and liberalise government in Victoria. Environmental protection laws were greatly strengthened, the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
was abolished, Aboriginal communities were given ownership of their lands,
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
and
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
were decriminalised and anti-discrimination laws were introduced. Hamer began the modernisation of Melbourne's moribund tramway system (now the world's biggest by route length), ordering 100 new trams immediately with further orders following, and approving the extension of the Burwood tram line from Warrigal Road to Middleborough Road. These were the first new trams and first new tram line since 1956, when Bolte stopped further expansion of the system and cancelled an order for 30 extra W7 class trams. Restrictions on shop trading hours, and on public entertainment on Sundays, were eased. A major new centre for the performing arts, the
Arts Centre Melbourne Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...
, was built in the centre of the city. These measures won the support of middle-class voters, and the Melbourne daily ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'', which had been critical of Bolte during his later years in power, strongly supported Hamer's government. Hamer was instrumental in the introduction of the Historic Buildings Act 1974 and made significant moves in 1977 which guaranteed the protection of several significant buildings including the Windsor Hotel and Regent Theatre in Melbourne and Shamrock Hotel in Bendigo. By 1979, however, the gloss was wearing off the Hamer image, as Victoria was beset by increasing economic difficulties, rising unemployment, industrial unrest and a decline in Victoria's traditional manufacturing industrial base. At the same time, the Labor Party was mounting a stronger challenge to the Liberals than it had in some time. Frank Wilkes had taken over as ALP leader from Holding in 1977, and took Labor into the 1979 election with a realistic chance of winning government for the first time since 1955. Ultimately, the Liberals suffered an 11-seat swing, losing many seats in eastern Melbourne. Their majority was reduced to only one seat, although they could also count on the support of the rural-based National Country Party. In spite of the setback, Hamer continued in office. He promoted some new younger ministers such as
Lou Lieberman Louis Stuart Lieberman (23 May 1938 – 17 May 2024) was an Australian politician and was a member of both the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the Australian House of Representatives. Born on 23 May 1938 at Swan Hill, Lou Lieberman was ...
(Planning),
Norman Lacy Norman Henry Lacy (born 25 October 1941) is an Australian former politician, who was a Minister in the Hamer and Thompson Cabinets of the Victorian Government from May 1979 to April 1982. He grew up in Richmond, Victoria and was educated at N ...
(Educational Services and The Arts) and
Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian former politician who served as the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, Leader of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1982 to 1989 and from 1991 to 1999, and the Member for ...
(Housing) who continued to pursue a reformist liberal agenda particularly in human services, education, environment protection, planning and the arts. It reformed the administration of the highly centralised Department of
Education in Victoria Education in Victoria, Australia is supervised by the Department of Education and Training (Victoria), Department of Education and Training, which is part of the Government of Victoria (Australia), State Government and whose role is to "prov ...
into a regionalised organisation with devolution of greater control to local schools. It established a '' Special Assistance Program'' to address illiteracy and innumeracy in primary schools. It introduced a ''Health and Human Relations Education'' curriculum and compulsory ''Physical Education'' in government schools. Also, it completed the construction of the ''
Victorian Arts Centre Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...
'', established the ''
Australian Children's Television Foundation The Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) is a national non-profit children's media production and policy hub. The ACTF helps develop children's television policy; distributes and pays for Australian children's television series; s ...
'', established the ''Meat Market Craft Centre'', acquired and established the ''
Heide Museum of Modern Art The Heide Museum of Modern Art, also known as Heide, is an art museum in Bulleen, Victoria, Bulleen, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Established in 1981, the museum exhibits modern art, modern and contemporary a ...
'', created ''
Film Victoria VicScreen, formerly known as Film Victoria, is the Victoria State Government's creative and economic screen development agency. It supports screen industry professionals, infrastructure, projects and events, promoting the state of Victoria as ...
'' and reconstituted the ''
Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (FFAM). It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus ...
''. These changes were not enough to prevent Labor from taking seven seats off the Coalition in Victoria at the 1980 federal election, over half of its nationwide 12-seat swing. During this period the conservative wing of the Liberal Party, which had always disliked Hamer's social liberalism, began to undermine his position. The leading conservative, Economic Development Minister
Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...
, was sacked from Cabinet for disloyalty in March 1981. He was reinstated after pledging loyalty to Hamer, but resigned again in May. It was apparent by this stage that Hamer had lost the support of his party. He resigned in June, and was succeeded by Deputy Premier
Lindsay Thompson Lindsay Hamilton Simpson Thompson AO, CMG (15 October 1923 – 16 July 2008) was an Australian politician and army officer who served as the 40th premier of Victoria from 1981 to 1982. He previously served as the 19th deputy premier of Vict ...
. The following month he resigned from Parliament, and was knighted, becoming Sir Rupert Hamer. At the ensuing by-election, Prue Sibree retained his seat for the Liberals. At the election the following year the Liberals were defeated after 27 years in power. Hamer is the last non-elected Victorian Premier to have subsequently been elected in his own right.


Later career

Hamer remained active in public and community affairs after his retirement. He was chairman of the Victorian State Opera from 1982 to 1995, president of the
Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (FFAM). It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus ...
from 1982 to 1996 and a patron of the
Public Transport Users Association The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is a community-based public transport lobby group in Victoria, Australia, based in Melbourne. It is run entirely by volunteers and has no full-time staff. History and aims The organisation was fou ...
from 1989. He died of
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
in his sleep on 23 March 2004, and his family accepted the offer of a state funeral from the
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 ...
Premier,
Steve Bracks Stephen Phillip Bracks (born 15 October 1954) is a former Australian politician and was the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Labor Party and was party leader and premier from 1999 t ...
. Hamer was praised by Victorians of all political views. The former Labor federal president, Barry Jones (and was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly between 1972 and 1977 serving alongside then Premier Hamer), called him "the finest flower in the Victorian Deakinite tradition.". Despite being a knight, Hamer was a staunch republican and a member of the Australian Republican Movement's advisory committee.


Hamer Hall

Shortly after his death in 2004, the main concert hall of the Melbourne
Arts Centre An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues fo ...
, of which Hamer had played a significant role in its development and the arts in Victoria generally, known as the Melbourne Concert Hall, was renamed the Hamer Hall.


Family

In March 2024, his 31-year-old grand-niece Amelia Hamer was selected as the Liberal candidate for the
Division of Kooyong The Division of Kooyong () is an Australian Electoral Division for the Australian House of Representatives in the state of Victoria, which covers an area of approximately in the inner-east of Melbourne. It contains the suburbs of Armadale, ...
in the
2025 Australian federal election The 2025 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 3 May 2025, to elect members of the 48th Parliament of Australia. All 150 seats in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives were up for election, along with 40 ...
.


References


Sources

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamer, Rupert 1916 births 2004 deaths Premiers of Victoria Deputy premiers of Victoria Treasurers of Victoria People educated at Geelong Grammar School Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Chief secretaries of Victoria Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Politicians from Melbourne People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) Melbourne Law School alumni Companions of the Order of Australia Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century Australian politicians Australian republicans Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army officers People from Kew, Victoria People educated at Melbourne Grammar School Ministers for the creative industries (Victoria) Ministers of immigration (Victoria) Ministers for local government (Victoria) Ministers for tourism (Victoria)