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A great man with a common touch

One of Scotch’s greatest-ever sons, Sir Zelman Cowen, died last December.

MR PAUL MISHURA – ACTING ARCHIVIST

SIR ZELMAN COWEN WITH FRANK CRAWFORD, KEN FIELD AND ALEC FRASER AT THE 1978 OSCA ANNUAL DINNER

A great man with a common touch

 

A great man with a common touch

 

A great man with a common touch

 

A great man with a common touch

 

The Right Honorable Sir Zelman Cowen AK PC GCMC GCVO Kt KStJ ('35) AK GCMG GCVO KStJ was born at St Kilda on 7 October 1919 as Zelman Cohen, the son of an importer. Three years later his parents changed the surname to Cowen.

Awarded one of three Lionel Robinson Scholarships, Sir Zelman entered Scotch and Lawson House in 1932. On the number 69 tram to Scotch he was famed for never lifting his head from the book he was reading. He was a 1935 Scotch Collegian editorial committee member, and, aged only 16, was equal Dux with three others in 1935, his final year. He secured the Exhibition as best student in the state for Hebrew and European History, and first-class honours in Greek and Roman History, Economics and English, in each case being in the top 10 students. Sir Zelman won a Government Senior Scholarship (first place) and an entrance scholarship to Ormond College.

Graduating BA (1939), LLB (1941) and LLM (1942), Sir Zelman won the Supreme Court Prize as the best Law student at Melbourne University, and won the 1941 Rhodes Scholarship for Victoria. Oxford University had to wait, for Sir Zelman enlisted in the RAN in 1941, survived the 1942 Darwin raids, and served as an intelligence officer in Brisbane. He was demobilised as a lieutenant.

On 7 June 1945 he married Anna Wittner, the sister of Scotch boys. Their son Simon attended Scotch from 1963 to 1966.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Civil Law from Oxford (1947), Sir Zelman spent four years as a Fellow of Oriel College, working as a legal consultant to the British Occupation Army in Germany, before becoming Dean of the Law Faculty at Melbourne University (1951-66), aged 31. He became and remained an Emeritus Professor of Melbourne University from 1967. From 1966 to 1970 he was vice-chancellor of the University of New England, became a QC in 1971, and from 1970 to 1977 Sir Zelman was vice-chancellor of the University of Queensland.

Sir Zelman’s decisive yet sensitive handling of university unrest and protests was a key factor in his appointment by Old Melburnian Malcolm Fraser as Australia’s 19th governor-general in 1977. In the aftermath of the withdrawal of Gough Whitlam’s commission by Sir Zelman’s predecessor, a man was needed who could heal the nation: Sir Zelman was that man. He brought to the office a quiet and humble dignity which restored public trust in the office and earned him public admiration. In 1982 he declined a further term in office to become provost of Oriel College (1982-90), during which he was chairman of the British Press Council (1983-88) and pro vice-chancellor of Oxford (1988-90).

Despite his high offices, Sir Zelman was a man with a common touch, and a diversity of interests which ranged from being a patron of his beloved St Kilda Football Club, to being – from 1982 – a member of the board of governors of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (and Tel Aviv from 1984). He died on 8 December 2011, a great Australian, a great statesman, and a great Scotch Collegian.

Launching Dr Jim Mitchell’s 150th anniversary history of Scotch, A Deepening Roar, in the Memorial Hall, Sir Zelman paid tribute to his old school. ‘Scotch has provided in its 150 years of life, a sound, progressive and often inspirational contribution to the Victorian economy. Its students have given leadership and support in all aspects of community life into which they have entered.’