Sir William Ernest Dunk, (1897–1984) was a senior official in the

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

Life and career

William Dunk was born in 1897. He joined the Commonwealth Public Service in 1914 as a Clerk in the Auditor-General's Office. He rose to hold positions including the Assistant Secretary for War Administration in the Department of the Treasury and Director of Reciprocal Land Lease in the

Department of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. Between 1945 and 1947 he was

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

of the Department of External Affairs. In 1947, Dunk was appointed chairman of the Public Service Board, succeeding commissioner

Frank Thorpe Frank Thorpe (13 November 1879 – 17 April 1928) was an English footballer who played as a centre-half for various clubs in the 1900s, including Southampton and Bury, with whom he won the FA Cup in 1903. Playing career Thorpe was born in Ha ...

. Well ahead of time, in October 1959, Dunk advised the Australian Government that he wished to retire in early 1961. He retired officially from the chairmanship on 31 December 1960. After retirement, he was invited to New Zealand to advise the New Zealand Government on public service matters.

Awards and honours

Dunk was appointed a

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 o ...

in June 1953 in recognition of his service as Chairman of the Public Service Board. In 1957 he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

. In 2009, a street in the

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

suburb of Casey was named Dunk Street in William Dunk's honour.

References

1897 births 1984 deaths Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian Knights Bachelor 20th-century Australian public servants {{Australia-gov-bio-stub