On 22 December 2013, Professor David Plowman AM, FASSA, passed away after a short illness; sadly he had been diagnosed with a brain tumour earlier in 2013.
David was an outstanding scholar and university administrator. He arrived in Western Australia at the age of 10 as a child migrant from Malta and after high school he completed an Honours degree in Economics from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and from there a Graduate Diploma in Teaching from the University of South Australia. He later won a scholarship to the University of Melbourne where he completed his Master of Arts degree in Industrial Relations. He completed his doctorate on the role of employer associations in Australian wage determination through Flinders University in South Australia, where Emeritus Professor Keith Hancock AO, FASSA, was his supervisor.
1. Professor David Plowman receiving the Vic Taylor Distinguished Long-Term Contribution Award from the incoming and outgoing AIRAANZ Presidents Professors Greg Bamber (left) and Janis Bailey at the 2013 AIRAANZ conference.
David was the author and co-author of more than 130 journal articles and more than 20 books, including one of the first general textbooks on Australian industrial relations, Australian Industrial Relations (by David Plowman, Stephen Deery and Chris Fisher). First published in 1980, it went on to many more editions and has been used in many Australian universities. His other writing included publications on wage determination, employer associations, trade unions and Australian industrial relations more generally. David was known to almost everyone in the industrial relations community of academics and practitioners.
In 1993, David resigned from his position as Professor of Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour at the University of New South Wales to return to Western Australia and take up a new role as Foundation Director of the Graduate School of Management at UWA. He held this position until 2000. During his career at UWA, David was also Chair of Academic Board and chair of numerous other committees. He had an extensive ‘service’ role at UWA including, more recently, contributing to New Courses. He was also an outstanding supervisor; he supervised and co-supervised 14 doctoral students to successful completion during his time at UWA.
In 1994, David was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA) in recognition of his scholarly achievements. He served as President of the Association of Industrial Relations Academics, Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ) in 1987–1988. In February 2013, the AIRAANZ conference conferred the annual Vic Taylor Distinguished Long-Term Contribution Award on David for his many contributions in the field of industrial relations, including serving for periods as editor of the Journal of Industrial Relations and editor of the Economic and Labour Relations Review. In November 2013, Dr Michael Chaney AO awarded David the UWA ‘Chancellor's Medal’ at a small private ceremony. The Chancellor's Medal is awarded for an outstanding contribution, or sustained contributions, to the University. David was clearly deserving of such awards.
David never forgot his roots and in 2002 became Chair of ‘Child Migrants of Malta’. In 2012, in recognition of his services to the community he was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
David will be remembered by many for his dedication, commitment, quick wit, energy and zeal. His passing is a sad loss, especially for someone who still had so much to give. He was only 71. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with his wonderful wife Cathy and their family.
Greg Bamber
Monash University, Melbourne
Acknowledgements
An earlier version of this obituary was circulated through email by Professor Paul Johnson, Vice Chancellor, UWA, on 23 December 2013. The photo and that version were supplied by Professors Alison Preston and Trish Todd of UWA. This version as published was edited lightly by Greg J. Bamber.