William Macmahon Ball

William Macmahon Ball AC
Born(1901-08-29)29 August 1901
Casterton, Victoria
Died26 December 1986(1986-12-26) (aged 85)
EducationUniversity of Melbourne (BA)
OccupationsPublic servant, diplomat
Spouses
Iris Shield
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​
(m. 1924; died 1926)​
Muriel Katrine Sandys Cliffe Anderson
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​
(m. 1928)​

William Macmahon Ball, AC (29 August 1901 – 26 December 1986) was an Australian academic and diplomat.

Life and career

Born in Casterton, Victoria, he was educated at Caulfield Grammar School and the University of Melbourne, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, Ball studied both psychology and political science as a research fellow at Melbourne and the London School of Economics respectively.[1] He then travelled Europe as a Carnegie Travelling Fellow, and during the Munich crisis was the first foreigner allowed to visit Sachsenhausen concentration camp in several years.

He was a notable diplomat, working as an advisor to the Australian delegation at the San Francisco conference of the United Nations in 1945,[2] Australian Minister to Japan, and British Commonwealth representative to the Allied Conference.

He later became a professor of political science at Melbourne University, and was a regular broadcaster on both the ABC and BBC. He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1978 "for service to education and learning particularly in field of political science".[3]

Ball was interviewed in 1971 by Hazel de Berg about his life and career. The recording can be found at the National Library of Australia.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ryan, Peter, "Ball, William Macmahon (1901–1986)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 19 January 2016
  2. ↑ "Resigned". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. No. 22, 114. New South Wales, Australia. 19 August 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 9 June 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ Australian Honours (2006). BALL, William MacMahon. Retrieved 12 June 2006.
  4. ↑ Ball, W. M.; de Berg, H. (interviewer). (1971). William Macmahon Ball interviewed by Hazel de Berg in the Hazel de Berg collection [sound recording], National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 May 2026.

Further reading

  • Peter Ryan, William Macmahon Ball: A Memoir (1990)
  • Ai Kobayashi, W. Macmahon Ball: Politics for the People (2013)
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