Clarence Lindsay Hermes (16 January 1921 – 24 January 1991) was an Australian barrister and magistrate. He was born at Arncliffe in Sydney to schoolteacher Alphonse Réné Hermès and Daphne Browne. From 1928 he lived in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

with his family, and in 1936 graduated from Birdwood High School in

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 ...

. He was unable to afford university and so worked for the ''

Adelaide Advertiser 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 demo ...

'' as a copy boy and then as a clerk at the

Union Bank of Australia The Union Bank of Australia was an Australian bank in operation from 1837 to 1951. It was established in London in October 1837 with a subscribed capital of £500,000. The foundation of the bank had followed a visit to England by Van Diemen's Land ...

. He served in the

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

during

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 opposing ...

as a radio and intelligence officer. Following his return, under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme, he studied law at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. In 1950 he was called to the Bar and joined a firm in

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta i ...

. On 9 May 1953 he married nurse Betty Ellen Lewthwaite. In 1953 he was recruited by the

Australian Secret Intelligence Service Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

and was sent to train with

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

. In 1957 he was expecting an appointment in Indonesia, but the dismissal of Alfred Deakin Brookes put his future in question and he resigned to work for the Crown Solicitor's Office. In 1961 he was appointed to the Adelaide Police Court as a magistrate, and in 1963 moved to Canberra as an additional stipendiary magistrate on the Court of Petty Sessions. He developed a keen interest in the rehabilitation of young offenders. He was given the Canberra Citizen of the Year award in 1968. In 1969 he received a

Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

Fellowship and visited Europe and the United States studying legal practices surrounding young offenders. In 1970 he was persuaded by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

to stand for a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

for the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

seat of

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. I ...

, but he was defeated by

Kep Enderby Keppel Earl Enderby (25 June 1926 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian politician and judge. Enderby was a member of the House of Representatives, representing the Australian Labor Party between 1970 and 1975 and became a senior cabinet minist ...

of the Labor Party. He then became London representative of the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

's Department, and in 1980 was appointed Chief Magistrate for the Australian Capital Territory. Hermes retired from the bench in 1984, but later served as chair of the ACT Credit Tribunal and as a government consultant. He died in 1991 in

Canberra Hospital Canberra Hospital is a major tertiary public hospital located in Garran, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It is the largest hospital in the region with 672 beds catering to a population of about 550,000. It was formed when the Woden Vall ...

after a heart attack. Clarrie Hermes Drive in

Gungahlin The District of Gungahlin () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory used in land administration. The Gungahlin Region is one of fastest growing regions within Australia. The district is subdivided into div ...

and Clarrie Hermes Park in Hughes, where Hermes lived, are named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermes, Clarrie 1921 births 1991 deaths Members of the Order of Australia Australian magistrates Australian barristers Australian spies Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II