Basil Edward Fairfax-Ross (4 April 1910 – 9 November 1984) was an Australian businessman who spent much of his career in the

Territory of Papua and New Guinea The Territory of Papua and New Guinea, officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea, was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New G ...

. He served as a nominated member of the Legislative Council from 1951 to 1963.

Biography

Fairfax-Ross was born in

Springwood, New South Wales Springwood is a town in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. Springwood is located 72 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains. At the , Springwood had a population of 8,475 peopl ...

in 1910, the son of Doris Riverstone (née McCulloch) and Basil Fairfax-Ross.Fairfax-Ross, Basil Edward (1910–1984)
Australian Dictionary of Biography He attended the King's School in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

but was unable to afford to study law at university. Following a short spell as a jackaroo, he moved to the

Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...

in 1931 to become a plantation assistant for

Burns Philp Burns Philp (properly Burns, Philp & Co, Limited) was once a major Australian shipping line and merchant that operated in the South Pacific. When the well-populated islands around New Guinea were targeted for blackbirding in the 1880s, a new ...

. By

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he had become an assistant inspector. He enlisted in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

in 1940 and served with the 2/12th Battalion in the Middle East from 1940 to 1942. He then returned to New Guinea to join the

Allied Intelligence Bureau The Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) was a joint United States, Australian, Dutch and British intelligence and special operations agency during World War II. It was responsible for operating parties of spies and commandos behind Japanese lines in ...

, carrying out field intelligence work often behind enemy lines, including serving as a

coastwatcher The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II t ...

Oro Bay Oro Bay is a bay in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, located southeast of Buna, Papua New Guinea, Buna. The bay is located within the larger Dyke Ackland Bay. A port is operated by PNG Ports Corporation Limited with limited wharf facilities, loca ...

. During the war he was twice

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) 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 ...

and rose to become a major. He was subsequently awarded the American

Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...

in 1948. After being demobilised in 1946 he married Jessie Agnes Dalton in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. He became assistant general manager at the British New Guinea Development Company in the same year, and was elected president of the Papua Planters' Association in 1949, a post he held until 1971. He became the company's general manager and a member of the Copra Marketing Board in 1951. In the same year was appointed as one of the three nominated European members of the Legislative Council, remaining a member until 1963. In 1961 he was also appointed to the Administrator's Council, remaining in the cabinet until 1963.P-NG's New "Cabinet"
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', April 1961, p18 In 1964 he was awarded a CBE. Fairfax-Ross subsequently served as a member of the Council of the

University of Papua New Guinea The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...

from 1965 to 1971 and as chairman of the Papua New Guinea Copra Marketing Board between 1971 and 1973. He was also a director of the ''

Papua New Guinea Post-Courier The ''Papua New Guinea Post-Courier'' is a newspaper based in Konedobu, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It was established on 30 June 1969. Its parent company, The Herald and Weekly Times (later purchased by News Corp Australia), had acquired wha ...

''. He retired from the British New Guinea Development Company in 1971 and moved to the

Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

area of Sydney, although remaining a director of Burns Philp and

Bougainville Copper Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) is a mining company of Papua New Guinea (PNG) that is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). BCL operated the copper, gold and silver mine at the Panguna mine on Bougainville Island in PNG from 1971 t ...

. He died at

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has over 600 beds. It is the prin ...

in Sydney in November 1984 at the age of 74, survived by his wife and two daughters.Passing of a grand 'Territorian'
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', January 1985, pp36–37

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairfax-Ross, Basil 1910 births 1984 deaths People educated at The King's School, Parramatta Members of the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Australian businesspeople Australian expatriates in Papua New Guinea