Robert Bell Hamilton

Robert Bell Hamilton
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Toorak
In office 10 November 1945 – 15 May 1948
Preceded by	Harold Thonemann
Succeeded by	Edward Reynolds
Personal details
Born	20 October 1892 East Melbourne, Victoria
Died	14 May 1948 (aged 55) Mornington, Victoria, Australia
Resting place	Springvale Botanical Cemetery
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse(s)	Olive Berry (m. 1920)
Profession	Architect
Committees	Library Committee, Public Works Committee
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Australian Imperial Force
Unit	14th Battalion

Robert Bell Hamilton (20 October 1892 – 15 May 1948) was a notable Australian architect and also Member of the Legislative Assembly for the State electoral district of Toorak in Victoria.^[1]

Biography

Robert Bell Hamilton's architectural works include some of the most expensive properties in Toorak, Melbourne's richest suburb. He was Victoria's foremost practitioner of the inter-war Old English/Tudor Revival style during the 1930s.^[2][3][4] Hamilton aided in the design, along with the firm Prevost Synnot and Rewald, of the heritage-listed Bruce Manor, former estate of Australian Prime Minister Stanley Bruce.^[5][6] For his contribution to Victorian architecture Hamilton was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects in 1931.^[7]

Hamilton served as a Councillor on Prahran City Council for Toorak Ward^[8] and then Mornington Shire Council. He later served as President of Mornington Shire Council,^[9] and subsequently became the Member for Toorak for the Liberal and Country Party in the November 1945 election^[10] that saw the Labor Party win a small majority over their coalition counterparts. During his short time in Parliament, Hamilton sat on the Public Works Committee and the Library Committee.^[10]

Hamilton died in 1948 at Mornington Nursing Hospital before serving a full-term in office.^[11] In an obituary published in The Standard, the then President of Mornington Shire Council wrote:

His work and his planning for the future of Mornington have put us in his debt, and his name will be remembered because his energy and his ideas have been given for the future and the advancement of our district...I pay homage to Robert Bell Hamilton, a citizen with true public spirit and a man who discharged all obligations of friendship.^[12]

The by-election triggered by his death, held in June 1948, saw the re-election of a Liberal and Country Party member, Edward Reynolds.

References

1. 'Case Adjourned', The Age, 30 October 1947.
2. 'Historic Opportunity', The Age, 9 October 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
3. Toorak Village – Historic Area, Victorian Heritage Database.
4. "City of Stonnington - Heritage Citations". Retrieved 15 January 2013.
5. "Bruce Manor". Retrieved 17 January 2013.
6. 'Home fit for a PM', Herald Sun, 17 September 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
7. "City of Prahran Annual Reports, 1931-32". Retrieved 14 January 2013.
8. "City of Prahran Annual Reports, 1932-33". Retrieved 15 January 2013.
9. "The Age, 'Obituary: Mr. R. B. Hamilton'". 17 May 1948.
10. Hamilton, Robert Bell, Parliament of Victoria website. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
11. "Truth, 'Liberals Lose Vic Stalwart'". 16 May 1948. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
12. "The Standard, 'Obituary, CR. R. B. Hamilton'". 20 May 1948. Retrieved 1 May 2016.