Sir Magnus Cameron Cormack KBE (12 February 1906 – 26 November 1994) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served multiple terms as a Senator for Victoria (1951–1953, 1962–1978), including as President of the Senate from 1971 to 1974.
Cormack was born in the Scottish Highlands and came to Australia as a child. He grew up in Adelaide and worked as a production manager with Holden for several years, later farming near Apsley, Victoria. During World War II he served in the New Guinea campaign and attained the rank of major. Cormack's first term in the Senate lasted only two years, during which he notably opposed the Menzies Government's attempt to ban the Communist Party. After several unsuccessful candidacies, he was re-elected at the 1961 federal election, becoming known for his committee work and support of John Gorton. Cormack was elected to the Senate presidency in 1971 and retained the position for the first term of the Whitlam government. After leaving politics he served as chairman of radio station 3XY. The proceeds from the sale of the radio licence were subsequently used to establish the Cormack Foundation, an investment vehicle for the Liberal Party.
Early life
Cormack was born on 12 February 1906 in Wick, Caithness, Scotland. He was the oldest of five children born to Violet () and William Petrie Cormack. His maternal grandfather John Macdonald Cameron was a Liberal Party member of the British House of Commons. Cormack's father, a medical doctor, decided to relocate to Australia for health reasons. A distant cousin was Sir Josiah Symon, a Senator for South Australia, who was also born in Wick. The family arrived in Adelaide in about 1912, and settled on the Eyre Peninsula south of Whyalla. Having begun his formal education in Scotland, Cormack attended a state school in Tumby Bay and then boarded at St Peter's College, Adelaide. From 1926 to 1931, he worked as a production manager with Holden.
During the Great Depression, Cormack went into dairy farming. In later life he observed "I had three dairy farms, and I lost money on every one of them, so I claim to know something about dairying". By 1934, he and his brothers John and William had acquired Koijak, a grazing property near Apsley, Victoria, close to the South Australian border. On 22 November 1935, Cormack married Mary Isabel Macmeikan (known as Mavis) at the registrar's office in Melbourne; she was a divorcee. The couple had four children together.
Military service
Cormack enlisted in the Militia in July 1940, and was posted to anti-aircraft regiments at Puckapunyal and Werribee. He was discharged in October 1940, but re-enlisted in June 1941 and was commissioned as a lieutenant. He received postings to the Royal Military College, Duntroon, the headquarters of the Australian Imperial Force, and the Staff College. He transferred to the regular army in August 1942. In July 1943, Cormack arrived in Port Moresby as part of the headquarters staff of the II Corps. He moved to the New Guinea Force in January 1944, where he spent four months before leaving for Townsville and receiving his discharge. He finished the war with the rank of major and was mentioned in dispatches for "gallant and distinguished service in Papua".
Early political involvement
Cormack was a member of the Young Nationalists before the war, and joined the Liberal Party in 1946. At the 1947 Victorian state election, he managed William McDonald's campaign in the seat of Dundas, helping defeat the long-serving Labor incumbent Bill Slater. Cormack was subsequently recruited to the federal policy committee, at the urging of Robert Menzies and Richard Casey. He was state president of the Victorian Liberals from 1948 to 1949. Cormack stood for the House of Representatives at the 1949 federal election, losing to Bill Bourke in the Division of Fawkner by just 27 votes. In a speech to the Melbourne University Liberal Club in April 1950, he urged Australia to take possession of Dutch New Guinea and populate it with white settlers, in order to pre-empt an Indonesian takeover.