Douglas Frank Hewson Packer KBE (1906 - 1974)

Born 3 Dec 1906 in Kings Cross, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Gretel Joyce (Bullmore) Packer — married 1934 in Woollahra, New South Wales, Australia

Husband of Florence Mathide Adeline Violet (Porges) Packer — married Jun 1964 in Westminster, London, England

Descendants

Died 1 May 1974 at age 67 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Frank Packer KBE is Notable.

Sir Douglas Frank Hewson Packer KBE OStJ was an Australian media proprietor who controlled Australian Consolidated Press and the Nine Network. He was a patriarch of the Packer family.

Douglas Frank Hewson Packer was born on 3rd December 1906 at Kings Cross, New South Wales, Australia. Frank, as he was known to all, was a son of Robert Clyde Packer and Ethel Maud Hewson.^[1] His father became editor of The Sunday Times and was a founder of Smith's Weekly and the Daily Guardian. Packer was notable as a mischievous lad and a poor student, variously educated at Turramurra College, Abbotsholme College, Wahroonga Grammar School, and Sydney Church of England Grammar School.

In 1923, Packer became a cadet journalist on his father's paper, the Daily Guardian. Four years later, he was a director of the company. In 1933, Packer started The Australian Women's Weekly and then transformed The Daily Telegraph into one of Australia's leading newspapers.

Packer inherited his media interests on his father's death in 1934, forming Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) in 1936 by merging with Ted Theodore's Sydney Newspapers and Associated Newspapers. He was chairman of ACP from 1936 until 1974. When television was introduced to Australia in 1956 he launched the first Australian station to broadcast a regular schedule, TCN in Sydney, which became the nucleus of the Nine Network.

interests outside business

Packer was on the Australian Jockey Club's committee for twelve years and won the Caulfield Cup with his horse, Columnist. Since 1980, the Frank Packer Plate has been conducted at Randwick Racecourse.

Packer was chairman of a syndicate that built the yachts Gretel and Gretel II to challenge for the America's Cup in 1962 and 1970. Whilst unsuccessful, it was Packer's involvement produces Australia's first challenges for the cup and encouraged further investment, leading to Alan Bond's successful Australia II syndicate.

He passed away of heart failure on 1st May 1974 at Sydney, New South Wales and was interred at the Packer family mausoleum at South Head Cemetery.^[2] He passed his $100M media empire to second son, Kerry, as he had fallen out with his elder son, Clyde Packer, in 1972.

marriages

Packer married Gretel Bullmore on 24th July 1934 in All Saints Church of England (Anglican Church), Woollahra, New South Wales.^[3] Gretel passed away in 1960.

Packer married for a second time, in June 1964 to Florence Adeline Vincent née Porges in Westminster, London, England.^[4]

honours and awards

• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE),1951
• Knight Bachelor 'for services to journalism and the newspaper industry' in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1959
• Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) 'for services to Australian and international yachting', in the New Year Honours 1971
• he was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1999

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #168/1907
2. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #3917/1974
3. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #13631/1934
4. ↑ UK FreeBMD Marriage Index Jun qtr 1964, vol 5c, page 690

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 15 April 2019), memorial page for Douglas Frank Hewson Packer (3 Dec 1906–1 May 1974), Find A Grave Memorial no. 167300922, citing South Head Cemetery, Vaucluse, Waverley Council, New South Wales, Australia ; Maintained by Vox3000 (contributor 49056742)
• Griffen-Foley, Bridget. 'Packer, Sir Douglas Frank (1906–1974)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2000; accessed online 24 Jun 2017.
• Wikipedia profile: Frank Packer; accessed 24 Mar 2019.