Quite the Perfect Gentleman
Andrew Palmer
Ewan Palmer - revered by many in Central Queensland - devoted most of his life to building the Rockhampton legal firm of Rees R & Sydney Jones into a leading regional law firm. As a regional solicitor he witnessed both the carnage wrought upon the local business community by the Depression and the post-war expansion of mining and the maturing of the cattle industry in Central Queensland. Ewan played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Central District Law Association in response to his concern about the confrontational behaviour of many local solicitors. This resulted in an immediate and rapid improvement of relations within the profession. The 'friendly invasion' of Rockhampton by American soldiers in 1942, provided him with an unexpected opportunity for a friendship with Col Harold Riegelman, a New York lawyer with national political connections. It gave him a glimpse into a world totally outside his lived experience. His liberal political philosophy led him firstly to the Queensland People's Party and then to the Liberal Party of Australia. He was the dynamic president of the Liberal Party in Capricornia for the only period that the seat has been held by a Liberal. This role brought him into contact with the colossus of the Liberal Party, Prime Minister Robert Menzies. His story provides an insight into Central Queensland in the period between 1928 and 1972, as Ewan was a participant in many of the controversial legal dramas of that time. Ewan Palmer emerges from the pages of this book as an intelligent, open-minded, compassionate, optimist who was devoted to his family and the firm in equal measure, whilst at all times retaining the quiet dignity of a perfect gentleman.