Sir Alan Thomas Carmody (8 September 1920 – 12 April 1978) was an Australian public servant and government official, who was knighted for his contributions.

Background and early career

Carmody was born at

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

, a suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. His father, Thomas Carmody, worked as a telephone mechanic for the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

and was later awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and Bar for bravery in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Alan Carmody attended St Patrick's College, ,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Aged 16, he joined the

Commonwealth Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the Go ...

on 18 March 1937 as a clerk for the Department of Trade and Customs in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. Carmody enlisted in 1940 in the Citizen Air Force of the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

. He was commissioned in February 1943, serving as a radar officer and was

demobbed Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

in 1945. He studied at the

Canberra University College Canberra University College was a tertiary education institution established in Canberra by the Australian government and the University of Melbourne in 1930. At first it operated in the Telopea Park School premises after hours. Most of the initi ...

and graduated from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

with degrees in Arts (1946), Commerce (1947) and a Masters of Commerce (1950).

Public service career

During various stages of Carmody's career, he worked within the

Department of Trade and Customs The Department of Trade and Customs was an Australian government department that existed between 1901 and 1956. It was one of the inaugural government departments of Australia established at federation. History The department was one of the fir ...

; the tariff board; the department of trade where he was deputy-secretary; the department of customs and excise as comptroller-general; the department of customs and excise (later

Department of Police and Customs The Department of Police and Customs was an Government of Australia, Australian government Government department, department that existed between March and December 1975. History The department was established while the Whitlam Go ...

) as head; the

Department of Business and Consumer Affairs The Department of Business and Consumer Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between December 1975 and May 1982. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be ...

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

and

of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. In 1975, Carmody pushed for the establishment of an agency to be known as the Australia Police, which he would have headed initially, formed by combining the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

and Commonwealth police forces, roughly modelled on the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

. The force would have dealt with smuggling and

white-collar crime The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a ...

. The project never came to pass for political reasons.

Awards and honours

In 1964, Carmody was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, that was upgraded to a Companion of the Order in 1971. In 1977, Carmody was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in recognition of service to the public service. In 2008, a street in the

suburb of Casey was named Carmody Street in Alan Carmody's honour.

Personal

A practising

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Carmody married Elizabeth Mary Brennan in St Patrick's Catholic Church,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, on 25 October 1944. Together they had five children. Carmody died suddenly from coronary vascular disease on 12 April 1978, aged 57, at his Canberra home, while still serving as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. After a service at St Christopher's Cathedral, he was interred in Canberra. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and three sons.

Background and early career

Public service career

Awards and honours

Personal

References

Further reading