Vernon Francis Wilcox

CBE 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 ...

QC (10 April 1919 – 13 March 2004) was an Australian politician. In a political career spanning twenty years, he represented the electorate of Camberwell in the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

and held many positions in the Victorian Cabinet. He is best known today as the initiator of the

Melbourne Underground Rail Loop The City Loop (originally called the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop or MURL) is a mostly- underground and partly surface-level subway and rail system in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Loop includes ...

, but also delivered a memorable speech to parliament in 1971 in favour of building a

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

to complement the Eastern Freeway. Wilcox was born in Camberwell, a suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. He was educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School, where he won the "Henry Meeks Medal for Leadership, Scholarship and Athletics" in 1932 and 1935 and acted as

School Captain A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

from 1935 to 1936. Wilcox maintained an interest in the school long after he graduated, and from 1963 to 1970 he served on the school council. After secondary school, Wilcox went on to study

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

. He matriculated shortly before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and joined the

Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) was a reserve force of the Royal Australian Navy. Formation In late 1920, the Navy Board proposed the creation of an Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve scheme, with approaches made to yac ...

, serving as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

from 1942 to 1945. During his time in the Navy, he worked as liaison officer to the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of ...

. After the war, Wilcox put his degree into practice, joining his father's firm, Hall and Wilcox, in 1946. In the 1940s, Wilcox became active in the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

but, in 1952, he contested the seat of Camberwell unsuccessfully, as a member of the break-away

Electoral Reform Party An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

. Back in the Liberal Party fold, he successfully contested Camberwell at a 1956

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. In 1964, he became a Cabinet Minister, being appointed Assistant Chief Secretary, Assistant Attorney-General, and Minister for Immigration. In 1965, he remained Assistant Attorney-General, but replaced the other two portfolios with the role of Minister for Labour and Industry. In 1967, he was made Minister for Transport, and in 1973, he became Attorney General. Wilcox retired from Parliament in 1976. Looking back over his career, he cited turning the first sod on the project to build the

in June 1971 as his proudest memory. In 2001, Wilcox wrote ''Minister for the Crown'', in which he reflected on his life in pre-war Melbourne, and his career in politics as a member of the Bolte and

Hamer Hamer may refer to: People with the surname Hamer: *Hamer (surname) In places: * Hamer, woreda in Ethiopia * Hamer, Iran * Hamer, Idaho, United States * Hamer, Ohio, United States * Hamer, South Carolina, Unite ...

Ministries. The book's foreword was penned by

Geoffrey Blainey Geoffrey Norman Blainey (born 11 March 1930) is an Australian historian, academic, best selling author and commentator. He is noted for having written authoritative texts on the economic and social history of Australia, including '' The Tyranny ...

. In 1998, Wilcox was selected as a delegate to the fourth Constitutional Convention, running on a "Safeguard the People" ticket. His mission at the Convention was to ensure that any modifications made to the Australian Constitution towards a Republic maintained the present checks and balances against

Centralism Centralisation or centralization (see spelling differences) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, framing strategy and policies become concentrated within a particu ...

and the power of the

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and the

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. He argued, "We have had a Constitution, rightly or wrongly, that has been significantly destabilised, a generation of young people ... who believe we have a bad Constitution, paradoxically, when it is in fact the best in the world.""Inspired by Machiavelli and Mac the Mouth", ''The Australian'', 5 February 1998 Wilcox was a keen sportsman. He played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

as a

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. ...

at university and later for Richmond Cricket Club, and in later life would be a trustee of the Melbourne Cricket Ground and maintained a long association with the

Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club is an Australian cricket team competing in the Victorian Premier Cricket competition. The club formed in 1996 from an amalgamation of Collingwood Cricket Club, a foundation member of Victorian Premier Cricket in 190 ...

. He was also involved for decades with the

Returned and Services League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. Mission The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...

and the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria. He was made

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 ...

in 1976. Wilcox married his wife Jean in 1942, and the couple had four children and thirteen grandchildren. He died in 2004, at the age of 84.

Notes

References

Condolences: Hon. Vernon Francis Wilcox, CBE, QC
Victorian Parliamentary HANSARD (Legislative Council), 30 March 2004. *"Tunnels a lasting legacy", Richard Wilcox, ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'', 26 May 2004. *"MP who kept Melbourne on track and in the loop", Natalie Sikora, '' Herald Sun'', 15 April 2004 *"Inspired by Machiavelli and Mac the Mouth", Claire Harvey, ''The Australian'', 5 February 1998.

External links

Portrait of Vernon Wilcox
taken by Loui Seselja in 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, Vernon 1919 births 2004 deaths Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Attorneys-General of Victoria Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Politicians from Melbourne People educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School 20th-century Australian politicians