Colin Hannah
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Air Marshal Sir Colin Thomas Hannah KCMG KCVO KBE CB (22 December 1914 - 22 May 1978) was an Australian airforce commander and Governor of Queensland 1972-77.
Hannah was born at Menzies, Western Australia. The family shifted from Bunbury to Perth. In February 1933 he joined the Militia, serving as a gunner with the 8th Field Battery; six months later he took a post as a junior clerk in the State Public Service and was employed in the Crown Law Department. In 1935 Hannah enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force, where he became a Flight Lieutenant. In 1939 he married Patricia Treacey Gwenyth Gordon.
Flight Lieutenant Hannah travelled to England in July 1939 for armament training with the Royal Air Force; he began the course less than a week before the outbreak of World War II. Returning to Australia in March 1940, he was employed at No.1 Armament School, Point Cook, and at base headquarters, Laverton. In May he was posted to Air Force Headquarters, Melbourne, for duties on the technical staff. He was promoted acting Squadron Leader in September. Appointed deputy director of armament in 1941, he rose to temporary Wing Commander in April 1942.
He served in Papua during World War II, with No. 6 Squadron. He assumed command of the squadron in November, was made temporary Group Captain in the following month and led No. 71 Wing in January-February 1944. Evacuated ill, he spent almost six weeks in hospital at Laverton before rejoining No. 6 Squadron at Goodenough Island. In September he became senior air staff officer on the headquarters of Western Area, Perth, and held the command from June 1945 to May 1946.
After a stint at the RAF Staff College, Andover, in May 1949 he took over the RAAF base at Amberley, Queensland. There, in August 1950 he was given temporary command of No. 82 Wing (Lincoln bombers). In 1951 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He became director of personal services in September 1951 and director-general of personnel in July 1952.
Appointed an aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II, he was largely responsible for planning RAAF involvement in the 1954 Royal Tour; that year he was elevated to CBE. While studying at the Imperial Defence College, London, he was promoted Air Commodore in January 1955. He was S.A.S.O., headquarters, Far East Air Force, Singapore, from January 1956 and in 1959 was appointed CB for his service during the Malayan Emergency.
Returning to Melbourne, in March 1959 Hannah became director-general of plans and policy, and in August led an advance party which began the Department of Air's transfer to Canberra. In December 1961 he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Air Staff and on 17 May 1962 was promoted acting Air Vice Marshal (substantive, January 1963). After heading Operational Command at Penrith, New South Wales, from February 1965 to December 1967, he took charge of Support Command in Melbourne. On 1 January 1970 he was promoted Air Marshal and made Chief of the Air Staff for what was expected to be a three-year term. He was appointed KBE in 1971.
In January 1972 it was announced that Hannah would be the next Governor of Queensland — the first RAAF member to attain such a position. He was sworn in on 21 March and hailed as 'a young thinking man of action . . . an experienced administrator with a no-nonsense reputation . . . a man with the flexibility of mind and ability to mix with people, so necessary for a Governor'. Nevertheless, by late 1975 he was involved in controversy. Following several petty incidents which had attracted adverse publicity, at a Brisbane Chamber of Commerce luncheon on 15 October Hannah criticized the 'fumbling ineptitude' of Gough Whitlam's Federal Labor government for placing Australia in 'its present economic state'. Convinced that Hannah lacked political impartiality, the Commonwealth government advised the Queen to revoke his dormant commission to serve as Administrator in the event of the absence or incapacity of the Governor-General of Australia. The Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen stated publicly that he wanted Hannah's term extended, but it was allowed to expire on 20 March 1977.
Hannah had been appointed KCMG and a knight and Deputy Prior of the Order of St John in 1972. In August 1977 he was appointed KCVO.
Survived by his wife and daughter, he died of a myocardial infarction on 22 May 1978 at his Surfers Paradise home; he was accorded a state funeral and was cremated.
[edit] References
- The Hon Michael McHugh QC, Foreword to Anne Twomey, The Chameleon Crown
- Anen Twomey, The States, the Commonwealth and the Crown — The Battle for Sovereignty, publication by the Senate, 28 September 2007
- Anne Twomey, Truth, Error and Government Obstruction, Quadrant magazine, January 2007
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Air Marshal Sir Alister Murdoch |
Chief of the Air Staff 1970–1972 |
Succeeded by Air Marshal Sir Charles Read |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Sir Alan Mansfield |
Governor of Queensland 1972– 1977 |
Succeeded by Sir James Ramsay |
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