Sir Donald Charles Cameron, (19 November 1879 – 19 November 1960) was an Australian politician and soldier. He was a member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

as the

Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party, also known as the National Party, was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the latter formed by Prime Mini ...

member for

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 ...

from 1919 to 1931 and as the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

member for Lilley from 1934 to 1937.

Early life and military career

Born in

, the son of a grazier, he was educated at

Toowoomba Grammar School , motto_translation = Faithful in All Things , city = Toowoomba , state = Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, day & boarding , denomination = Non-denominational , established = ...

and

Brisbane Grammar School , motto_translation = Nothing Without Labour , established = 1868 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , key_people = , ci ...

. He served with the Queensland Imperial Bushmen in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

and with American forces in China during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. He managed the family property, Kensington Downs, along with his brothers between 1902 and 1914, when he enlisted in World War I. He was shot through the liver and lung at the Battle of Gallipoli, and finished the First World War as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in command of the

5th Light Horse Regiment The 5th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in August 1914, and assigned to the 2nd Light Horse Brigade. The regiment fought against the forces of the Ot ...

. He was mentioned in despatches, received the

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sultana ...

, and was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

for his war service.

Politics

In 1919 he won the seat of

for the

, holding it until he was defeated by the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

in 1931. In 1934 he won the nearby seat of Lilley, but retired in 1937. In 1932 he was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

Later life

During World War II, Cameron was chairman of the New South Wales recruiting committee for the

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

. He died on 19 November 1960 and was cremated; his ashes were buried in the family cemetery on Home Creek Station.

References

1879 births 1960 deaths Australian Army officers Australian military personnel of the Second Boer War Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Brisbane Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Lilley United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians American military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion {{Australia-National-politician-stub