David Osborne Hay CBE DSO (1916 - 2009)

Born 29 Nov 1916 in Corowa, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Alison Marion Parker (Adams) Hay — married 25 Jan 1944 in Southport, Queensland, Australia

Died 18 May 2009 at age 92 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

David Hay CBE DSO is Notable.

David Hay CBE DSO was born in New South Wales, Australia

Lieutenant Colonel Sir David Hay CBE DSO was an Australian soldier, senior public servant and diplomat, who served as Australian Ambassador to the United Nations, Administrator of Papua New Guinea, and headed the departments of External Territories and Aboriginal Affairs.

David Osborne Hay was born on 29th November 1916 in Corowa, New South Wales, Australia. He was the younger son of Harry Algernon Hay, a grazier, and his wife Margery Moule. ^[1][2] The family holidayed with David's maternal grandparents in Brighton, on Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. David attended Geelong Grammar School, becoming school captain and joint dux.

He studied at University of Oxford, reading classics, ancient history and philosophy at Brasenose College, graduating with second-class honours. Upon his return to Australia David found that, as his degree was not from an Australian university, he was unable to enter the public service; he continued studying, at the University of Melbourne and joined the Treasury and then the Department of External Affairs in 1939.

David Hay CBE DSO is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Australian Military Force 1940-1949
2/6th Infantry Battalion 2AIF 1940-46; 3rd Infantry Battalion CMF 1948-49

LTCOL Sir David Hay CBE DSO was wounded at Papua during the Second World War.

On 10th January 1940 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Australian Military Force (Citizen Military Force), soon after transferring to the Second Australian Imperial Force, his nation's all-volunteer expeditionary force for the Second World War. He was posted to the 2/6th Infantry Battalion, 17th Brigade, 6th Division, with whom he served in the Middle East, Greece, Papua and New Guinea, rising to the rank of Major. ^[3] As a company commander in the latter campaign he was severely wounded. For his war service he was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-1945 and Australia Service Medal 1939-1945.

David married Alison Adams on 25th January 1944 in St Peter's Church of England (now Anglican Church), Southport, Queensland. ^[4][5] Their children were: ^[2]

• Andrew (c1946–)
• David (c1949–)

David was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) ^[6][7] and Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1945. ^[8][9]

Following his demobilisation from the AIF on 30th January 1946, ^[3] David transferred back to the part-time Citizen Military Force. He was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed commanding officer of the 3rd Infantry Battalion 1948-1949.

David returned to the public service and was appointed official secretary to the Australian High Commission in Ottawa, Canada; following which h spent a year at the Royal College of Defence Studies in Britain. He was appointed Australian Ambassador to Thailand, and played an important role in the early days of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). In 1961 David returned to Canada as High Commissioner, from where he was appointed Ambassador to the United Nations 1964–65. In 1963 he was upgraded to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was appointed Administrator of Papua and New Guinea, then an Australian territory, from 23rd December 1966. In 1970 he returned to Australia, assuming appointment as head of the Department of External Territories; when the Department of External Territories was abolished by the Whitlam government in 1973, David was appointed Australia's first Military Ombudsman. He was appointed secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in 1976 by the Fraser government, retiring in 1979 on health grounds.

He was created Knight Bachelor in 1979.

In retirement, David wrote a history of the 2/6th Battalion, Nothing Over Us: The Story of the 2/6th Australian Infantry Battalion. ^[10] He bought back his birthplace, Boomanoomana Homestead and restored the old family house, garden, outbuildings and land, and wrote a biography of his great-grandfather, The Life And Times of William Hay of Boomanoomana, 1816–1908.

Aged 92 years and having been widowed for seven years, David passed away on 18th May 2009 in Melbourne, Victoria. ^[2] He was survived by two sons, daughter-in-law and three granddaughters (all of whom went to Geelong Grammar School).

Giving back to his community, David had been an active member of Legacy; and was president of the Canberra branch in 1959. He was chairman of the Canberra Grammar School Council and was for a time an executive member of the ACT branch of the Royal Institute of Public Administration. Throughout his life, he was a strong practising Anglican.

Sources

1. ↑ "Births Search Results: Hay, David O." Registration No.: 51084/1916. Retrieved 19 February 2017 by Clare Spring from https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result?3.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} "Hay, Sir David Osborne (1916–2009)." Obituaries Australia. Accessed 19 February 2017 by Clare Spring from http://oa.anu.edu.au/lifesummary/hay-sir-david-osborne-474.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: 252098 (VX9890) Major David Osborne Hay; accessed 3 May 2023
4. ↑ Queensland Marriage Index #1944/B/58089
5. ↑ "Marriages." 4 February 1944. The Sydney Morning Herald, p. 8. Retrieved 19 February 2017 by Clare Spring
6. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: MBE, gazetted in Canberra 27 January 1944 on page 161 at position 2; accessed 3 May 2023
7. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards (recommendation): MBE; accessed 3 May 2023
8. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: DSO, gazetted in Canberra 6 Mar 1947 on page 745 at position 13; accessed 3 May 2023
9. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards (recommendation): DSO; accessed 3 May 2023
10. ↑ Australian War Memorial, Canberra. 1984

See also

• Farquharson, John. 'Hay, Sir David Osborne (1916–2009)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 3 May 2023.
• Wikipedia: David Hay (diplomat); accessed 3 May 2023.