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Donald Alastair Cameron

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The Honourable
Donald Cameron
OBE
Minister for Health
In office
11 January 1956 – 22 December 1961
Prime MinisterRobert Menzies
Preceded byEarle Page
Succeeded byHarrie Wade
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Oxley
In office
10 December 1949 – 9 December 1961
Preceded byNew seat
Succeeded byBill Hayden
Personal details
Born(1900-03-17)17 March 1900
Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Died5 January 1974(1974-01-05) (aged 73)
Chermside, Queensland, Australia
Political partyLiberal
SpouseRhonda Florence McLean
Military service
AllegianceAustralia
Branch/serviceCitizen Military Forces (1936–40)
Second Australian Imperial Force (1940–45)
Years of service1936–1945
RankLieutenant Colonel
Commands2/1st Field Ambulance
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsOfficer of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in Despatches

Donald Alastair Cameron, OBE (17 March 1900 – 5 January 1974) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in federal parliament from 1946 to 1961, representing the Division of Oxley in Queensland. He was a doctor by profession and held ministerial office as Minister for Health in the Menzies government from 1956 to 1961. After losing his seat he served a term as High Commissioner to New Zealand (1962–1965).

Early life

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Cameron was born in Ipswich, Queensland. He received his education at Ipswich Grammar School and the University of Sydney, where he graduated in arts and medicine. From 1927 to 1933 he was a medical officer at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the Coast Hospital in Sydney. In 1933, he married Rhoda Florence McLean. They settled at Ipswich where he practised medicine until the Second World War, in which he served as a colonel in the Australian Army Medical Corps in the Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre and New Guinea. He was mentioned in despatches and made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1946.[1]

Politics

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After the war, Cameron joined the newly formed Liberal Party of Australia and, at the 1949 election, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives for the new seat of Oxley, based on Ipswich. He was Minister for Health in the Menzies government from 1956 to 1961. He was also appointed minister in charge of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in 1960 following Richard Casey's retirement. At the 1961 election he was unexpectedly defeated by the young Australian Labor Party candidate Bill Hayden.[1]

Later life

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After his election defeat, Cameron worked as Commonwealth medical officer in Sydney and was Australia's High Commissioner to New Zealand from 1962 to 1965. He was then a general practitioner in the Brisbane suburb of Nundah.[2]

Death

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Cameron died in the Brisbane suburb of Chermside.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Harrison, Jennifer (1993). "Cameron, Donald Alastair (1900–74)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  2. ^ Harrison, Jennifer, "Donald Alastair (Don) Cameron (1900–1974)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 29 September 2023
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Health
1956–1961 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister in charge of the Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research Organisation
1960–1961 		Succeeded by
Parliament of Australia
New division Member for Oxley
1949–1961 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand
1962–1965 		Succeeded by
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