OBITUARY: Robert Cotton
Sir Robert Cotton, AO, KCMG
1915-2006
BOB Cotton was born in Broken Hill and grew up with a deep understanding and respect for the toughness and resilience of country Australians. He was himself a tough and resilient man but these qualities were tempered by twinkling charm, humour and compassion for those less able than himself.
He was also a passionate and creative photographer and equally passionate and proud supporter of the creative careers of his daughters, the sculptor Ann Ferguson and the painter Judy Cotton. He was also very proud of his son Rob's achievements in Australia's diplomatic service.
Bob Cotton was the eldest of six siblings and enjoyed his large and rumbustious family - something he joyously carried on into his own brood, with childhood sweetheart Eve McDougal (married in 1937). As a youngster, Bob worked in his father's business and trained as an accountant, although his ebullient and expansive personality was never to be constrained by ledgers. He trained as a bomber pilot at the outbreak of WW2 but instead made a significant contribution when posted to Oberon with the task of organising the supply of timber for the vital Broken Hill mining industry.
The harsh experience of the Depression and WW2 marked for life his thinking and meant that politics was an inevitability even though he and his wife had established a successful sheep breeding business at Carrington Park, near Oberon. (In the grand tradition of so many Australian women, the sheep breeding became Lady Cotton's major concern and lasting achievement when her husband was called to Canberra and the Senate.)
Although Bob would probably have been happiest with a camera stuck to his eye, he was a foundation member the Liberal Party and a lifelong public servant (in the true sense of the term). He was the quintessential small "l" liberal politician: conservative in the true sense of the word, with friends and admirers on both sides of politics. His first campaign was against then prime minister Ben Chifley, in 1947. The Labor leader and the young hopeful were mutually respectful and good friends despite the political divide - it was a trait carried forward by Bob Cotton.
He finally entered the Senate in 1966 and served as Minister for Civil Aviation in the Gorton and McMahon governments; and was Minister for Industry and Commerce in the Fraser government. He retired from representative politics in 1978, was knighted for his services and appointed Consul General to New York for a two year term.
His brief was to promote Australia to the financial and investment community and, with the beautiful and smart Eve by his side, it was a task he approached with great relish and success. He also spent a lot of time photographing New York in a creative way not seen since the days of Alfred Stieglitz.
In 1982, Bob was appointed ambassador to Washington, again by the Fraser government. His success in the USA on Australia's behalf was unprecedented and his personal charm and integrity were again recognised across politics when his appointment was extended by the next prime minister, Labor's Bob Hawke.
In 1985 the Cottons returned to Australia for good, although neither let the grass grow: both remained active in the community at both higher and grass roots levels. Bob was made an AO in 1993.
Photography remained a constant throughout his career and he exhibited in the United States and in Australia, including a joint exhibition with his daughter Judy in Sydney in 2005. During his Washington ambassadorship, he jointly published (with Jane Weinberger) a book of photographs and text illustrating the walk along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
In 2000, his beloved Eve died after some years of ill health. It was a great blow but Bob continued with his quiet, behind-the-scenes interests in national politics; he firmly believed in the proper and responsible role of government and was not a free marketeer; he was also staunch in his support of individual and social justice and strongly opposed government by vested interests.
A great part of Bob's charm was his optimism and belief in the human spirit. He was always encouraging of younger people, enjoyed the company of the young and a good-looking (and intelligent) woman. He was an inspiring and humane boss who knew nothing of airs and graces. He loved Australia and its people in whose service he spent the greater part of his life.
In 2003 Bob married Betty Krummel. She supported and cared for him when it really mattered and gained the affection and respect of his three children. Bob is survived by them and by seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren and by Betty, and her three daughters. They will all miss him and remember him with love and affection.
He should also be recalled with respect and admiration by all sides of politics as a man who served his country and its people first while representing the best and almost extinct aspects of conservative politics.
