John Cramer (Australian politician)
Sir John Cramer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister for the Army | |
| In office 28 February 1956 – 18 December 1963 | |
| Preceded by | Eric Harrison |
| Succeeded by | Dr. Jim Forbes |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Bennelong | |
| In office 10 December 1949 – 11 April 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Division created |
| Succeeded by | John Howard |
| Mayor of North Sydney | |
| In office 20 December 1939 – 6 December 1941 | |
| Deputy | George Fowle |
| Preceded by | James Stanton |
| Succeeded by | George Fowle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Oscar Cramer 18 February 1896 Quirindi, New South Wales |
| Died | 18 May 1994 (aged 98) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Dame Mary Therese Cramer (1893–1984); four children |
Sir John Oscar Cramer (18 February 1896 – 18 May 1994) was an Australian politician, representing the Liberal Party, of which he was a founding member.
Political career
Cramer was elected as Mayor of North Sydney in 1939 and served until his defeat as an alderman at the December 1941 municipal elections.[1][2] Later he was Chairman of the Sydney County Council. He was elected to the House of Representatives as the inaugural representative of the seat of Bennelong on its creation in 1949. In 1956, the Prime Minister Robert Menzies appointed him Minister for the Army, a portfolio he held until 1963.[3][4]
Cramer was the only Catholic in the Liberal Party parliamentary team, a fact Menzies would often joke about.[5]
In 1964 he was created a Knight Bachelor.[6] He retired from parliament before the 1974 election, and was succeeded by John Howard (later to become Prime Minister). He died on 18 May 1994, aged 98.
Personal life
In 1922 he married Mary Therese Earls, a teacher, and his elder by two and a half years. The couple had four children: John, Erle, Bronwyn and Leonie.[7] For her four decades of service as a charity worker and community activist, Lady Cramer was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1971.
Dame Mary Cramer predeceased her husband by almost a decade, dying on 23 September 1984 (aged 91).[8]
Writings
- Cramer, John (1989). Pioneers, politics and people: a political memoir. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-04-442104-7.
References
- ^ "MAYORAL ELECTIONS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 812. New South Wales, Australia. 15 December 1939. p. 16. Retrieved 9 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "LABOUR LOSES CITY POLL". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 32, 432. New South Wales, Australia. 8 December 1941. p. 8. Retrieved 9 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Hon John Howard MP, Member for Bennelong (NSW), First Speech To Parliament". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 26 September 1974. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
- ^ MAYORAL ELECTIONS
- ^ Abjorensen, Norman. "Australia's great political shift". Inside Story. School of Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities, Swinburne University of Technology. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
- ^ "Cramer, John Oscar". It's an Honour. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
- ^ Earls Family Chronicles
- ^ "Cramer, Dame Mary Therese". Australian Women. National Foundation for Australian Women. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1896 births
- 1994 deaths
- People from Sydney
- Deputy mayors of places in Australia
- Mayors of North Sydney
- Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bennelong
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives
- Australian Knights Bachelor
- Australian politicians awarded knighthoods
- Australian Roman Catholics
- 20th-century Australian politicians