A man for all seasons: Sir Michael Chamberlin

This month, the Order of the Knights of the Southern Cross Victoria celebrates the centenary of their official foundation under that name. The following is an abridged version of an article from the KSCV’s official publication, The Crusader. It describes the life and achievements of prominent Melbourne Catholic, Sir Michael Chamberlin KBE, whose 1917 letter to the editor of The Advocate helped put in motion the beginnings of the Order.

Businessman. Public servant. Real estate agent. Philanthropist. Academic. Administrator. Devout Catholic. Son. Brother. Husband. Advisor to Melbourne’s archbishops. First Deputy Chancellor of Monash University. Knight of the British Empire. Knight of the Order of Pius. Founding Member of the Knights of St Francis Xavier. Founding Member of the Knights of the Southern Cross Victoria.

These are just some of the roles and titles of Sir Michael Chamberlin KBE KCOP, who was one of the most prominent Catholic laymen in Melbourne’s and Australia’s history. While not as well known publicly as B.A. Santamaria (a frequent associate and friend), Sir Chamberlin’s impact on Australian Catholic society was nevertheless far reaching, and remains evident to this day. He was a man of many talents in many fields, which he would utilise for the greater good of his fellow Catholics, who were openly discriminated against at the time.

He would also utilise his skills in the private sector, entering the real estate world, joining the agency of prominent Catholic layman Thomas Michael Burke in 1922. He would go on to manage the Sydney Branch of T.M. Burke’s agency, and while there would assist those Catholics struggling to find employment during the early stages of the Great Depression. Returning to Melbourne in 1933, he would hold senior positions with other financial institutions, including the National Trustees, Executors & Agency Co. of Australasia Ltd, City Mutual Life Assurance Society Ltd and T. M. Burke Finance & Investment Co. Pty Ltd.

While a talented public servant and businessman, he was also deeply involved with many Catholic organisations, one of his earliest being the Catholic Young Men’s Society (CYMS), where he would eventually rise to the position of general president and create various outreach initiatives.

While a representative of the CYMS, he would take part in the official welcoming of Archbishop Dr Daniel Mannix to Melbourne in 1913, greeting him with a welcoming speech. Dr Mannix would be impressed by the young Chamberlin, who would quickly become a close confidant, neighbour, and financial advisor to the mighty Irish-born Archbishop, who would later appoint him a member of the Archdiocese’s Roman Catholic Trusts Corporation. In this capacity, Sir Chamberlin would use his business skills to acquire property for the establishment of Catholic buildings. He would also undertake much charitable work, and actively campaign for state aid to independent schools.

The letter that started it all

His greatest contribution to the Catholic Church in Australia would come from the writing of a letter to the editor of The Advocate (the then diocesan newspaper of the Archdiocese of Melbourne), which was published on 11 August 1917, calling for the formation of an organisation such as the Knights of Columbus in North America to counter the continual discrimination of Catholics and the freemasonic influence within Australian society at the time.

From that letter, the first Australia-wide Order of Knights would be formed – the Knights of St Francis Xavier – in December 1917. They would eventually merge with the Knights of the Southern Cross from New South Wales, holding their first Victorian Meeting under that name in March 1922, with Sir Chamberlin one of the foundation members and state councillors, and T.M. Burke its first Grand Knight (what we know as State Chairman today).

First Deputy Chancellor of Monash University

Sir Chamberlin would receive numerous appointments and honours for his contributions to Catholic and Australian society. Some of the senior positions he would receive were with St Vincent’s Hospital, Mercy Private Hospital, St George’s Hospital Kew, Newman College at the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, the Australian Institute of Management, the Institute of Directors, the Australian Society of Accountants and the Economic Society of Australia.

On behalf of the Knights, he sat on the Dr Horace Nowland travelling scholarship committee and on the Catholic Vocational Guidance Auxiliary. He was good friends with B.A. Santamaria, for whom he chaired the National Civic Council’s extension committee.

Sir Chamberlin was an integral part of the foundation of Monash University, becoming its first Deputy Chancellor in 1961. He would also play a significant part in the development of Monash’s Catholic Residential College, Mannix College, of which he would become the first Fellow, and would have the library named in his honour, to which he donated his book collection.

Among the various honours he received, he would be appointed an O.B.E in 1955, which was upgraded to a knighthood in 1964 for his services to education; appointed a Knight of the Order of Pius by Pope Paul VI in 1969; and would receive an honorary doctorate of laws from Monash University in 1969.

Good works to the end

Sir Chamberlin would take much of his journey in life with the company of a woman by the name of Veronica Christina Erck. They were married on 6 December 1924 at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, and had no children.

At the age of 80, Sir Chamberlin suffered a heart attack in his home on Studley Park Road, Kew (opposite the then Archbishop’s residence ‘Raheen’). Active to the end, he had attended board meetings earlier that day and had appeared at an NCC function two nights earlier where he received a standing ovation. Archbishop James Knox presided over Sir Chamberlin’s funeral at St Patrick’s Cathedral on 20 March 1972, with over 900 congregants in attendance. He was later buried at the Boorondara Cemetery in Kew. Lady Veronica Chamberlin would survive her husband for another 26 years, passing on 8 August 1998.

The Order owes Sir Michael Chamberlin so much, as do all Victorian Catholics. Let us honour his role in the foundation of the Order by continuing its good works, and seeking those who can make significant contributions to our Church.