Sir (Lawrence) Emmet McDermott KBE (6 September 1911 – 31 August 2002) was an Australian dentist, politician and

Lord Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has be ...

between 1969 and 1972.

Early life

Emmet McDermott was born in

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

, the sixth of ten children. Educated at

St Ignatius' College St Ignatius' College is a Catholic voluntary aided secondary school for boys aged 11–18 in Enfield, London, England, founded by the Society of Jesus. It was formerly a grammar school, only accepting boys who had passed the Eleven plus exam. ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

where he graduated in dentistry, he earned a doctorate of dentistry from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. McDermott was Consultant Dental Surgeon at the

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School ...

from 1942 and also worked at the

Sydney Dental Hospital Sydney Dental Hospital (SDH) is in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in Surry Hills, between Chalmers Street and Elizabeth Street opposite the entrance to Central railway station. SDH provides both specialist treatment and general dental ...

. He was the President of the Australian Dental Association (NSW) from 1960 to 1961 and became a Fellow of the

Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons The Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS) is a postgraduate professional education body established in 1965 to provide a broad range of activities to enhance the professional development of both general and specialist dentists thr ...

(FRACDS).

City of Sydney

Joining the

Civic Reform Association The Civic Reform Association, variously known as the Civic Reform Movement and the Citizens' Reform Association, was an Australian non-aligned ratepayers' organisation that was formed by approximately seventy people at the Sydney Town Hall on 20 ...

, he was elected to the Council of the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...

in 1962, becoming Lord Mayor in 1969. As Lord Mayor, he was instrumental in the preservation of the historic

Queen Victoria Building The Queen Victoria Building (abbreviated as the QVB) is a heritage-listed late-nineteenth-century building designed by the architect George McRae located at 429–481 George Street in the Sydney central business district, in the Australian stat ...

and the conversion of

Martin Place Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney.

into a pedestrian mall.

Later life

In the 1972

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

he was made a

Knight Commander 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 ...

(KBE) in the civil division. Sir Emmet McDermott died in 2002 age 90. He is survived by his son and daughter from his first marriage, and his second wife.

References

Australian dentists Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Mayors and Lord Mayors of Sydney Northwestern University Dental School alumni University of Sydney alumni 1911 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians Councillors of Sydney County Council 20th-century dentists {{Australia-mayor-stub