Copland, Douglas B.

Description

Agent TypePersonActivities & OccupationsAcademics - EconomicsGenderMaleHistorySir Douglas Berry Copland was born to Alexander and Annie Copland (nee Loudon) on the 24 February 1894 at Otaio, New Zealand. He attended Esk Valley Primary School (1899-1906) and Waimate District High School before attaining his secondary teaching degree at Christchurch Teachers’ College. He completed a BA (1915) and Masters (1916) at Canterbury College and tutored for the Worker’s Educational Association (WEA) in New Zealand. He continued this relationship when he moved to Australia in 1917 to lecture in history and economics at the University of Tasmania. In 1924 he was appointed foundation Professor of Economics at The University of Melbourne. He was appointed to the Sydney Myer Chair of Commerce in 1926, became Acting Vice Chancellor in 1936, and had chairmanship of the Union Board in 1938. Copland advised on economic development, tariff policies, rural debt and the Depression, and with the advent of WWII he was appointed Commonwealth Prices Commissioner. Later he became the Prime Minister’s chief economic adviser on planning and policy. He returned briefly to the University of Melbourne before becoming the foundation Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU) in 1948. When Copland retired in 1961 he had two formal doctorates, and seven honorary degrees from Australian and overseas universities. He was made a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George for his assistance in Australia’s recovery from the Depression, and a Knight of the British Empire in 1950. He died on 27 September 1971.

Selected Reference List:
CEDA 2010, ‘The legacy of Sir Douglas Copland’, Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Melbourne Victoria, viewed 21 June 2013, http://www.ceda.com.au/about/50-years/copland
Copland, Sir Douglas Berry n.d., ‘Biographical Note’, Guide to the papers of Sir Douglas Copland, Collection Number MS 3800, National Library Australia, viewed 20 June 2013, http://www.nla.gov.au/ms/findaids/3800.html#scopecontent1
Flesch, J & McPhee, P 2003, 150 Years: 150 Stories, History Department University of Melbourne, Victoria.
Harper, M 1993, ‘Copland, Sir Douglas Berry (1894-1971)’, in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol 13, (MUP), viewed 18 June 2013, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/copland-sir-d ouglas-berry-247
R.J.W. Selleck, 2003, The shop: The University of Melbourne 1850-1939, Melbourne University Press (MUP), Carlton Victoria, p. 606.

Accession

Dates

Date1894-1971

Names

TitleSirGiven NameDouglasMiddle NameBerryFamily NameCopland

University of Melbourne Archives

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Copland, Douglas B.