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Macalister Adair Blain

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Macalister Adair Blain
Blain Mcalister Adair.jpg
Internet
Personal Information
Date of Birth Not known
Place of Birth Inverell, New South Wales
Death 28 Apr 1983
Place of Death unknown
Age at Enlistment 21 years old
Description
Occupation Chainman
Religion Methodist
Address NOK Maidenwell Post Office, Queensland
Next of Kin Mother , Mrs Katurah Anne Blain
Military Information
Reg Number 2126
NX56669
Date of Enlistment 13 Feb 1916
Rank Corporal
Unit/Formation 51st Battalion, 4th Reinforcement, transferred to 32nd Battalion / 13th Brigade, 4th Division
Date of Embarkation 9 Aug 1916 ‒ 25 Sep 1916
Ship Embarked On HMAT A28 Miltiades
Date of Return 6 Oct 1919 ‒ 16 Nov 1919
Ship Returned On HMNZT Pakeha
Fate Returned to Australia
Monument Kelmscott War Memorial (West panel)
Perth Modern School Honour Roll
Medals British War Medal
Victory Medal
1939-45 Star
Pacific Star
War Medal 1939-45
Australian Service Medal 1939-45



Pre War

It is probable that he was living in Kelmscott while attending Perth Technical College. and before that Perth Modern School.

WW1 War Service

WW1 records are filed with his WW2 records (NX56669) so no detail is yet available of his WW 1 war service.

389th Casualty List has Blain listed as ill.[1] Macalister is reported as returning on the "SS Pakeha".[2]


Post WW1

Returning from Europe, Blain worked as a surveyor in Northern Queensland before moving to the Northern Territory in 1929 to become the Darwin area surveyor. Blain's work took him throughout northern Australia, giving him the opportunity to gain a high profile, which he used at the 1934 Federal election, standing as an independent for the Division of Northern Territory.

WW2 War Service

After changing his year of birth to 1897,[3] Blain enrolled in the army during World War II and served as a Sergeant [NX56669] in the 2/12 Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers (8th Division) and was sent to Malaya.[4]

Captured by the Japanese following the fall of Singapore in 1942, Blain was a Prisoner of War, first in Singapore and later Borneo, until his release in September 1945.[5]

Blain remains the only serving member of the House of Representatives to have been a Prisoner of War.[6][7]. Blain returned to Australia, and upon re-entering the House, wearing his uniform, was the subject of a standing ovation from his fellow members.[8] He was then ordered to return to hospital where he spent the next two months recovering before returning to parliament.[9]

While serving as a POW, Blain had been re-elected unopposed to his Northern Territory seat at the 1943 election,[10] and elected again in 1946 before losing his seat at the 1949 election.

References

  1. "THE ROLL OF HONOUR. 389TH CASUALTY LIST.". Western Mail. XXXIII, (1,688). Western Australia. 3 May 1918. p. 35. Retrieved 25 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia. 
  2. "COMING HOME". The Daily News. XXXVIII, (13,940). Western Australia. 7 November 1919. p. 5. Retrieved 25 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia. 
  3. Carment, D., Maynard, R. et al. (1990) Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography Vol. 1, Northern Territory University Press: Casuarina.
  4. World War II Nominal Roll, Accessed 2 April 2017.
  5. Lumb, M., Bennett, S. et al. (2007) Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war, Research Brief, Australian Government Department of Parliamentary Services. 26 March 2007, no. 10, 2006–07
  6. Carment, D., Maynard, R. et al. (1990) Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography Vol. 1, Northern Territory University Press: Casuarina.
  7. "Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Files - Macalister Adair Blain". Australian War Memorial. 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018. 
  8. Lumb, M., Bennett, S. et al. (2007) Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war, Research Brief, Australian Government Department of Parliamentary Services. 26 March 2007, no. 10, 2006–07
  9. Kemp, R. & Stanton, M. (2004) Speaking for Australia: Parliamentary Speeches that Shaped Our Nation, Allen & Unwin: Sydney. ISBN 1-74114-430-2.
  10. 4. Lumb, M., Bennett, S. et al. (2007) Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war, Research Brief, Australian Government Department of Parliamentary Services. 26 March 2007, no. 10, 2006–07

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