Alick Downer


Sir Alexander Russell "Alick" Downer was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was a member of the House of Representatives between 1949 and 1963, representing the Liberal Party, and served as Minister for Immigration in the Menzies Government. He was later High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1972.

Family, early life and career

Downer was born in Adelaide as a member of the influential Downer family. His father, Sir John Downer, was a Premier of South Australia and a member of the Australian Senate. His mother was Una Russell, daughter of Henry Chamberlain Russell, who remarried when Alick was 8, to D’Arcy Wentworth Addison. Sir Alick's son, Alexander Downer, also a Liberal politician, was Leader of the Opposition 1994–95 and Foreign Minister of Australia 1996–2007.
He was educated at Geelong Grammar School and at the University of Oxford, where he graduated in economics and political science. He was the godfather of Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, brother of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Earl's godmother was Queen Elizabeth II.
After graduating from Oxford in 1932 he read law in London, and in 1934 he was admitted to the bar at Inner Temple. Returning to Adelaide, he joined the South Australian Bar in 1935. He practised as a barrister until joining the Australian Army in 1940. He served in Malaya and was a prisoner-of-war for three years, where he set up a camp library and gave lessons to other prisoners. He was promoted to sergeant due to these efforts, but the promotion was not recognised upon his release.
His book Six prime ministers was published in 1982.

Political career

After the war, Downer joined the newly formed Liberal Party of Australia, and in 1949 he was elected to the House of Representatives for the rural-based Division of Angas. By invitation of the premier, Thomas Playford, he joined the board of the Electricity Trust of South Australia for three years and the Art Gallery board where he remained for seventeen years until his appointment as High Commissioner. He served as Minister for Immigration from 1958 to 1963. One of his first acts was to oversee the passage of the Migration Act 1958, which replaced the earlier Immigration Restriction Act 1901 that had formed the basis of the White Australia policy. During his term in office, reforms to migration laws led to the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants, mostly from Britain and Europe, where new recruitment posts had been created. Many refugees were also accepted. As a result of his experience as a prisoner of war, he arranged for non-criminal deportees to be held in detention centres instead of being sent to jail.

Diplomatic career

He retired from Parliament upon his appointment as Australian High Commissioner in London, a position he held until 1972. The building of the High Commission, Australia House, has a Downer Room on the first floor, named in his honour. Downer was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1965 Birthday Honours. He was made a Freeman of the City of London in 1965.

Personal life

On 23 April 1947, he married Mary Gosse, daughter of Sir James Gosse, whom he had met at a cocktail party in Adelaide. Together they had four children, Stella Mary, Angela, Alexander Downer, who would later serve as the leader of the Liberal Party and Minister for Foreign Affairs under the Howard government, and Una Joanna.