Wikipedia

Ken Myer

Kenneth Baillieu Myer, AC, DSC (1 March 1921 – 30 July 1992) was an American-born Australian patron of the arts, humanities and sciences; diplomat, administrator, businessman and philanthropist. He was a member of the notable Melbourne retailing Myer family. Myer made significant philanthropic and personal contributions to the development of major national institutions, most notably the Howard Florey Laboratories of Experimental Physiology and Medicine, the School of Oriental Studies at the University of Melbourne, the Victorian Arts Centre and the National Library of Australia.[1] In 1959, he became Benefactor and Co-Founder of The Myer Foundation with his brother Baillieu Myer AC.[2] He was also the founding chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.[3]

Ken Myer
AC, DSC
Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
In office
1983–1986
Preceded byLeonie Kramer
Succeeded byDavid Hill
Personal details
Born(1921-03-01)1 March 1921
San Francisco, California, United States
Died30 July 1992(1992-07-30) (aged 71)
Alaska, United States
Civilian awardsCompanion of the Order of Australia
Military service
AllegianceAustralia
Branch/serviceRoyal Australian Navy
Years of service1941–1946
UnitHMAS Arunta
HMS Tenacious
HMS Louis
HMS Ursa
Military awardsDistinguished Service Cross
Mentioned in Despatches

Gravesite, Box Hill Public Cemetery

Early life and Second World War

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Ken Myer was born in San Francisco, California, United States in 1921, the eldest son of Sidney Myer, who migrated to Australia from Russia in 1899, then moved to the United States to make his fortune. Sidney Myer had divorced his first wife in Reno, Nevada, but this divorce was not recognised under Australian law. His second wife, (later Dame) Merlyn Myer, travelled to San Francisco for the birth of each of her four children to ensure they would be considered legitimate.[4] The family returned to Australia in 1929 and Myer was educated at Geelong Grammar School, where his strengths were in music, the arts, the classics and languages. His father died at an early age in 1934, when Ken was 13 years of age. He enrolled at Trinity College, the University of Melbourne, for a term in 1939 before being accepted to the University of Oxford but could not attend due to the outbreak of the Second World War. He attended Princeton University for a year, then returned to Australia and served in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).[citation needed]

Myer was temporarily seconded to the Royal Navy in mid-1943, and rose to the rank of lieutenant. On 15 August 1944, he was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for his role in an attack by HMAS Arunta on the Japanese submarine Ro-33 that had torpedoed a merchant ship, Malaita, outside Port Moresby.[5] He was also mentioned in despatches in 1944. Later he served in the occupation forces in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.[1]

Career

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In 1948, Myer became a Director of the Myer Emporium, a role he continued until 1985. He was Deputy chairman and managing director 1960–1966, Chairman 1966–1976, and a non-executive Director 1976–1985. He was also a Director of Coles Myer Ltd 1985–89.[3][dead link‍]

Together with his siblings, Myer brought the Sidney Myer Music Bowl into existence in 1959. Ken Myer donated it to the people of Victoria and Australia, and it was accepted on their behalf by the then prime minister, Robert Menzies.

Myer championed the introduction of freeways and shopping malls to Australia, and was instrumental in setting up the Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne.[4]

In 1972, Myer surprised and to a degree alienated his family by publicly supporting the Australian Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam during the federal election campaign. Labor won government in December 1972 and Whitlam became prime minister. In early 1974, Whitlam offered Ken Myer the opportunity of succeeding Sir Paul Hasluck as Governor-General. He declined, and the post went to Sir John Kerr.[1][6]

Myer's other activities were extensive and varied. He was:

Myer successfully fostered new research in organisations such as the Division of Plant Industry of the CSIRO and helped build the Oriental Collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.[1] At his death in 1992, he was the greatest collector of Japanese art in Australia.[8]

Honours and awards

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Myer won the International Retailers Award in 1970.[1] On Australia Day 1976 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).[9][3][10]

In 1989 the Australian Libraries and Information Association gave Myer its Redmond Barry Award, which goes to a lay person not employed in a library who has rendered outstanding service to the promotion of a library and to the promotion of a library and the practice of librarianship.[3][dead link‍]

In April 1992 Myer was elected to the Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science, under the provision for special election of people who are not scientists but have rendered conspicuous service to the cause of science.[1]

Kenneth Myer Lecture

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The annual Kenneth Myer Lecture was founded by the Friends of the National Library of Australia in 1990. The inaugural lecturer was Gough Whitlam, and later Kenneth Myer Lecturers have included H. C. Coombs, Dr Davis McCaughey, Emeritus Professor John Mulvaney, Sir Gustav Nossal, Professor Peter C. Doherty, Fred Chaney, Professor Fiona Stanley, Harry Seidler, Tim Costello, Geoffrey Robertson, Michelle Grattan, Professor Tim Flannery, Professor Ian Frazer,[11] Kim Williams, Laura Tingle and Professor Megan Davis.

Kenneth Myer Medallion for the Performing Arts

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The Kenneth Myer Medallion for the Performing Arts was awarded by the Arts Centre Melbourne between 1991[12] and 2010.[13]

Recipients of the award included Clifford Hocking (inaugural award, 1991);[12] Liz Jones (1994[13] or 1995);[14] Jenny Kemp and Daniel Keene (1998); Shirley McKechnie and John Romeril;[13][15] Malcolm Robertson and Mary Kenneally (2000);[13] actor and teacher John Bolton (2002); Bob Sedergreen (2006);[13] choreographer Helen Herbertson (2007);[16] and theatre maker and teacher Robert Draffin (2010).[17][13]

Personal life

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In 1947, Myer married Prudence Boyd (1925–2005) and they had five children:[18] Joanna,[19] Michael, Philip, Martyn and Andrew. Ken and Prudence were divorced in 1977.[20] Ken married Yasuko Hiraoka[1] (16 March 1945 – 30 July 1992) in 1979.

Myer and Yasuko, along with three other people, were killed in a light aircraft crash in Alaska on 30 July 1992.[21]

Martyn Myer is a Life Governor of the Myer Foundation.[22] Andrew Myer is a property developer and film producer.[23] Andrew is Chairman of Sidney Myer Fund and for five years held the position of Director and Co-Vice-President of The Myer Foundation.[24] Joanna Baevsky is a psychologist, and she and Michael Myer were producers, with Andrew Myer, of the 1988 film Radiance.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Denton, Derek. Kenneth Baillieu Myer 1921–1992 at Australian Academy of Science, 2016
  2. ^ "Sidney Myer Fund & The Myer Foundation". www.myerfoundation.org.au. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p [dead link‍]National Library of Australia: Kenneth Baillieu Myer, An Appreciation Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b "Media Monitors: Ken Myer's lasting legacy of power and philanthropy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  5. ^ It's an Honour: DSC (Imperial)
  6. ^ Barry Jones, A Thinking Reed, p. 200
  7. ^ "Sue Ebury: The Many Lives of Kenneth Myer" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  8. ^ Art Gallery of New South Wales[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Australian Honours". Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  10. ^ It’s an Honour: AC
  11. ^ National Library of Australia – Kenneth Myer Lecture
  12. ^ a b "Clifford Hocking AM 1931-2006". Live Performance Australia. 20 July 2008. Archived from the original on 12 March 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Kenneth Myer Medallion for the Performing Arts". AustLit. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Liz Jones AO". Victorian Government. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  15. ^ "John Romeril". AustLit. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  16. ^ "Helen Herbertson". RealTime. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Myer Medallion awarded to Robert Draffin". Australian Stage Online. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  18. ^ The Australian, 27 September 2008, Life in the business of giving
  19. ^ The Australian Women's Register: Joanna Baevsky
  20. ^ Australian Women's Register
  21. ^ Kate McClymont and Lindsay Simpson, 'Kenneth Myer killed in Alaskan air crash' Melbourne Age 3 August 1992 p. 1
  22. ^ "Myer Foundation website". Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  23. ^ Quinn, Karl (5 August 2022). "How Andrew Myer came to embrace the family name". The Age. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  24. ^ jkeast (17 August 2022). "Andrew Myer appointed chair of Documentary Australia". IF Magazine. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  25. ^ iMDb
Media offices
Preceded by Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
1983–1986 		Succeeded by
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