Vice Admiral Ian Donald George MacDougall, (23 February 1938 – 1 July 2020) was a senior commander of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

(RAN), who served as Chief of Naval Staff from 1991 to 1994. He also served as Commissioner of New South Wales Fire Brigades from 1994 to 2003 and was Patron of the Submarines Association Australia.

Early life

MacDougall was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 23 February 1938 to James MacDougall and his wife, Eileen (née Stanbridge). In 1954, MacDougall entered the

Royal Australian Naval College The Royal Australian Naval College (RANC), commonly known as HMAS Creswell, is the naval academy of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It consists of the RAN School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Kalkara Flight, the Beecroft Weapons Range an ...

Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, said to possess the whitest sand in the world. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia ...

as a 15-year-old cadet midshipman.

Career

MacDougall went on to command the submarines HMS ''Otter'' and HMAS ''Onslow'', the guided missile destroyer HMAS ''Hobart'' and the fleet tanker HMAS ''Supply''. He became Director of Submarine Policy in 1982, Commander of the submarine base HMAS ''Platypus'' in 1985 and Director General of Joint Operations and Plans for the Australian Defence Force in 1986. He was appointed Maritime Commander Australia in January 1989, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff in July 1990 and finally Chief of Naval Staff in March 1991. He was made a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the 1993 Birthday Honours, and retired in March 1994. On his retirement from the RAN, MacDougall was appointed Commissioner of New South Wales Fire Brigades. He fulfilled the role for nine years, being awarded the

Australian Fire Service Medal The Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) is awarded for distinguished service by a member of an Australian fire service. The AFSM was introduced in 1988, and replaced the Imperial awards of the Queen's Fire Service Medal for Gallantry and the Que ...

in the Australia Day Honours of 2000. He retired to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in 2003. From 2003 to 2007, he was Independent Chairman of the board of the Co-operative Research Centre – Bushfires, and from 2005 to 2007 he was also Chairman of the Australian Veterans' Children Assistance Trust.Ian MacDougall, AC, AFSM Vice Admiral RAN Rtd
The Inaugural Platypus Address, HMAS Platypus, 18 August 2007, Submarines Association Australia, NSW Branch, page 12.

Personal life

MacDougall was married to television journalist and presenter

Sonia Humphrey Sonia Denise Humphrey (10 November 1947 – 1 January 2011) was an Australian television presenter, newsreader and journalist. Humphrey was a talented ballerina as a child and studied television production before working as an archaeologist for f ...

from 1996 until she died in 2011. After his retirement from New South Wales Fire Brigades, MacDougall and Humphrey moved to Green Point near the town of

Marrawah Marrawah is a small town in the north of the West Coast of Tasmania, Australia. Marrawah is located in the former shire of Wellington, now part of the Circular Head Council area. At the 2006 census, Marrawah had a population of 407. Marrawah ...

in north-west Tasmania. MacDougall died on 1 July 2020.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdougall, Ian 1938 births 2020 deaths Military personnel from New South Wales Chiefs of Naval Staff (Australia) Companions of the Order of Australia Deputy Chiefs of Naval Staff (Australia) Royal Australian Navy admirals People from Sydney Recipients of the Australian Fire Service Medal