Felix Cyril Sigismund Dittmer (27 June 1904 – 29 August 1977)Dittmer, Felix Cyril Sigismund (1904–1977)
— Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 22 January 2015. was an Australian politician.Dittmer, Dr Felix Cyril Sigismund
—

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

. Retrieved 22 January 2015.

Early life

Felix Cyril Sigismund Dittmer was born on 27 June 1904 in Dugandan,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, the son of Gustav Dittmer and his wife Marie Farris (née Massie). His father was a chemist born in Germany. His primary schooling was at St Mary's Convent School in Bowen and Childers State School. He attended Childers State High School, where he achieved the highest results of any student being dux and winning prizes in all his subjects. He completed his secondary schooling at St Joseph's College, Nudgee in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. He was the first student from the Isis district to be awarded a university scholarship. Later he studied at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

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 ...

, becoming a doctor. He was an honorary surgeon in

. Dittmer practised in Proserpine (1932–1940) and Brisbane (1940–1943), becoming an

ear, nose and throat Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...

specialist. He enlisted in the

Australian Military Forces The Australian Military Forces (AMF) was the official name of the Army of Australia from 1916 to 1980. This encompassed both the (full-time) "regular army", and the (part-time) forces, variously known during this period as the Militia, the Citizen ...

in August 1943 and served with the

Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian coloni ...

until February 1946, when he moved to the Army Reserve. While living in North Queensland, Dittmer bought a gold mine in the

Whitsunday Region The Whitsunday Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by two previous local government areas with a history extending back to the establishment of regional local governmen ...

. He established Dittmer Gold Mines Limited and the town of Dittmer grew up around the mine; the company was liquidated in 1952.

Politics

Dittmer was president of the Graceville branch of the ALP. He first stood for parliament at a 1943

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

by-election in the seat of

Oxley Oxley may refer to: Places Australia Australian Capital Territory * Oxley, Australian Capital Territory is a suburb of Canberra, Australia Queensland *Oxley, Queensland is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia ** Oxley railway station, Brisba ...

. He also stood at the 1944 state election. In 1950, Dittmer was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

member for

Mount Gravatt Mount Gravatt is a southern suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and a prominent hill and lookout within this suburb (). In the , Mount Gravatt had a population of 3,366 people. Geography The suburb is situated in the south- ...

; he briefly served as state deputy Labor leader in 1957. He lost his seat in the 1957 state election, but in 1958, he was elected to the Australian Senate as a Labor Senator for Queensland. He remained in the Senate until his retirement in 1970, taking effect in 1971.

Later life

Dittmer died in 1977 and is buried in Mount Gravatt Cemetery.Dittmer Felix
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 22 January 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dittmer, Felix 1904 births 1977 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland Australian people of German descent 20th-century Australian politicians Australian otolaryngologists