John Cramer (Australian politician)

Sir John Oscar Cramer (18 February 1896 – 18 May 1994) was an Australian politician, representing the Liberal Party, of which he was a founding member.

The Honourable Sir John Cramer
Minister for the Army
In office 28 February 1956 – 18 December 1963
Preceded by	Eric Harrison
Succeeded by	Dr. Jim Forbes
Member of the Australian Parliament for Bennelong
In office 10 December 1949 – 11 April 1974
Preceded by	Division created
Succeeded by	John Howard
Mayor of North Sydney
In office 20 December 1939 – 6 December 1941
Deputy	George Fowle
Preceded by	James Stanton
Succeeded by	George Fowle
Personal details
Born	John Oscar Cramer 18 February 1896 Quirindi, New South Wales
Died	18 May 1994 (aged 98) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Dame Mary Therese Cramer (1893–1984); four children

Political career

Cramer was elected as Mayor of North Sydney in 1939 and served until his defeat as an alderman at the December 1941 municipal elections.[1][2] Later he was Chairman of the Sydney County Council. He was elected to the House of Representatives as the inaugural representative of the seat of Bennelong on its creation in 1949. In 1956, the Prime Minister Robert Menzies appointed him Minister for the Army, a portfolio he held until 1963.[3][4]

Cramer was the only Catholic in the Liberal Party parliamentary team, a fact Menzies would often joke about.[5]

In 1964 he was created a Knight Bachelor.[6] He retired from parliament before the 1974 election, and was succeeded by John Howard (later to become Prime Minister). He died on 18 May 1994, aged 98.

Personal life

In 1922 he married Mary Therese Earls, a teacher, and his elder by two and a half years. The couple had four children: John, Erle, Bronwyn and Leonie.[7] For her four decades of service as a charity worker and community activist, Lady Cramer was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1971.

Dame Mary Cramer predeceased her husband by almost a decade, dying on 23 September 1984 (aged 91).[8]

Writings

• Cramer, John (1989). Pioneers, politics and people: a political memoir. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-04-442104-7.

References

1. "MAYORAL ELECTIONS". The Sydney Morning Herald (31, 812). New South Wales, Australia. 15 December 1939. p. 16. Retrieved 9 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "LABOUR LOSES CITY POLL". The Sydney Morning Herald (32, 432). New South Wales, Australia. 8 December 1941. p. 8. Retrieved 9 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "The Hon John Howard MP, Member for Bennelong (NSW), First Speech To Parliament". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 26 September 1974. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
4. MAYORAL ELECTIONS
5. Abjorensen, Norman. "Australia's great political shift". Inside Story. School of Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities, Swinburne University of Technology. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
6. "Cramer, John Oscar". It's an Honour. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
7. Earls Family Chronicles
8. "Cramer, Dame Mary Therese". Australian Women. National Foundation for Australian Women. Retrieved 28 August 2007.