Sir Peter Roylance Delamothe

OBE 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 o ...

(29 June 190426 October 1973) was an ophthalmological surgeon and member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

Early years

Born Peter Roylance de la Mothe at Spring Hill,

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 ...

, to parents Charles Joseph de la Mothe, a chemist who had moved to Australia from France, and his wife Anna Mary (née Oliver), he was educated at St Francis School in Hughenden, and then Mount Carmel College in Charters Towers.Delamothe, Sir Peter Roylance (1904–1973)
—

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

. Retrieved 20 April 2015. Awarded an open scholarship after coming third in the state for his final examinations, Delamothe entered 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 obtained M.B. and

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degrees. Between 1927 and 1930, he served as a junior, then senior, resident medical officer at

Sydney Hospital Sydney Hospital is a major hospital in Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at its current location since 1811. It first rece ...

, where he also practiced ophthalmological surgery before entering into private practice. It was around this time that he anglicized his name to Delamothe. By January 1933, Delamothe was back in

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 , established_ ...

and appointed as the medical superintendent of the Collinsville hospital. Known for his hard work, he performed seventy-seven operations in his first seven weeks there, which greatly increased the hospital's popularity with the local population. In early 1936, he moved to

Bowen Bowen may refer to: Places Australia * Bowen, Queensland, a town * Bowen Hills, Queensland, a suburb ** Bowen Hills railway station, a railway station in Bowen Hills ** Bowen Park, Brisbane, a park in Bowen Hills * Bowen Bridge, crossing the Derw ...

and set up his own practice. On 26 October 1940, Delamothe joined the

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

DELAMOTHE, PETER ROYLANCE
— WW2 Nominal Roll. Retrieved 20 April 2015. as a probationary flight lieutenant and was based at several different hospitals and medical receiving stations. By October 1944 he had been promoted to the rank of temporary wing commander and was transferred to the reserves.

Political career

In 1939, Delamothe stood as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

for the mayoralty of Bowen but was unsuccessful. After World War II, he once again stood for the position at the 1946 council elections and this time was successful and went on to serve for twelve years. During this time he carried on with his medical practice and at one stage locating his surgery in the municipal chambers. Delamothe fought hard for the construction of a major highway diversion to Bowen but his efforts proved fruitless. He oversaw the start of a sewerage system for the town and the first co-ordinated attempts made to attract tourists to the region. In April 1958, Bowen was hit by a

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

, destroying most of the town. As the cyclone was at it worst, Mayor Delamothe was performing surgery by torchlight on a critically ill patient at the local hospital, which had already lost its roof. Delamothe accepted the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

nomination for the resurrected electorate of

at the 1960 state elections and went on to win the seat, holding it until it was abolished in 1971. Within three years of entering the parliament he was appointed Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, holding the role until his retirement from politics in December 1971. From June 1967, Delamothe was also the Deputy Leader of the Queensland Liberal Party. During his time as Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, Delamothe acted to ease the backlog of cases in Queensland courts, and helped establish the Law Reform Commission and the Legal Aid Bureau. He introduced weekend detention and work-release programs for minor offenders and reduced

prison overcrowding Prison overcrowding is a social phenomenon occurring when the demand for space in prisons in a jurisdiction exceeds the capacity for prisoners. The issues associated with prison overcrowding are not new, and have been brewing for many years. Dur ...

by convincing the government to carry out an extensive building program. Delamothe reformed Queensland's alcohol laws, enabling Brisbane hotels to remain open on Sundays and for the first time women were allowed into the public bar. He was also responsible for introducing the state's first consumer protection laws. On 20 December 1971, the day after his retirement from parliament, Delamothe took up an appointment as the Queensland Agent-General in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He held the role until serious illness forced his resignation in September 1973.

Personal life

At the

Ashfield Ashfield may refer to: People * Ashfield (surname) Places Australia * Ashfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Municipality of Ashfield, a former local government area in Sydney ** Electoral district of Ashfield, a former electoral dist ...

Methodist Church in Sydney, Delamothe married Myrtle Eunice Lois Bussell on 23 April 1931 and they had four sons. Their marriage later ended in divorce and on 17 May 1947 he married Joan Patricia Milner at the Australian Inland Mission Hall in Broome,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. This marriage was to produce a son and two daughters. In 1959 he was appointed an

Officer 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 o ...

(OBE), and he was knighted in June 1973. Delamothe died of cancer at St Mary's Hospital in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

, London in October 1973. He was cremated and his ashes scattered on Bowen harbour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delamothe, Peter 1904 births 1973 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland People from Brisbane Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian Knights Bachelor Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II 20th-century Australian politicians