Donald James Cameron (19 January 1878 – 20 August 1962) was an Australian politician who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

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 ...

from 1938 to 1962. He was a member of the Labor Party and served as Minister for Aircraft Production (1941–1945) and

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a Ministry (government department), ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having ...

(1945–1949) in the Curtin and Chifley Governments.

Early life

Cameron was born in

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

of working-class parents and was educated at the City Road Primary School in

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

and

South Melbourne College South Melbourne College was a co-education boarding school in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school was founded by Thomas Palmer in 1883. John Bernard O'Hara became a partner in 1889 and became sole proprietor in 1893-4. In his han ...

. In 1895 he went to Western Australia to search for gold, but in fact became a printer for the ''

Coolgardie Miner The ''Coolgardie Miner'' (18 April 1894 – 16 June 1911) was a weekly newspaper established in Coolgardie, Western Australia, at a time when Coolgardie was the prominent town in the goldfields region of Western Australia. The subsequent publi ...

''. In 1899, he returned to Melbourne and married Georgina Eliza Werrin. In 1901 and 1902 he served in the Australian Army in the

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 Sou ...

and was wounded. He settled in Western Australia where he worked as a plumber and became an official of the plumbers' union and later secretary of the Trades Hall. Returning to Melbourne in 1919 he became active in the

Victorian Socialist Party The Victorian Socialist Party (VSP) was a socialist political party in the Australian state of Victoria during the early 20th century. Most VSP members were also members of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), or later became members. A faction ...

, a

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

party. He was secretary of the Melbourne Trades Hall, editor of the Tramways Union newspaper and President of the Victorian Branch of 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 ...

Political career

Cameron ran unsuccessfully as the Labor candidate for election to 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 ...

seats of Balaclava in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and

Fawkner Fawkner is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Hume and Merri-bek local government areas. Fawkner recorded a population of 14,274 at the 2021 census. The ma ...

in a by-election in 1935. He also was beaten for election to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, but won in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

. When

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

formed a Labor government in October 1941, Cameron became Minister for Aircraft Production in the wartime government. In the Chifley government from 1945 to 1949 he was

. From 1946 to 1949, he was Deputy Leader of the Labor Party in the Senate. Aged 71 when the Chifley government left office, he returned to the backbench, and did not stand for re-election at the 1961 election, being very deaf. He was the last serving parliamentarian who had fought in the

. Cameron died less than two months after the expiration of his term, in the Melbourne suburb of

Malvern East Malvern East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Malvern East recorded a population of 22,296 at the 2021 c ...

. He was survived by his wife and three sons.

Early life

Political career

References

Further reading