Donald Cleland

Brigadier Sir Donald Mackinnon Cleland, (28 June 1901 – 27 August 1975) was an Australian soldier and administrator.

Early years Born on 28 June 1901 at Coolgardie, Western Australia, eldest son of Adelaide-born Elphinstone Davenport Cleland, mine-manager, and his second wife Anne Emily, née Mackinnon, from Scotland. On 18 December 1928 he married Rachel Evans at St George's Cathedral, Perth, Western Australia. Energetic, with broad interests and deft social skills, Rachel complemented his dour, sometimes gruff, manner, and eased contact with diverse people. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1981.

Military career For his work as deputy assistant quartermaster general, I Corps, during the campaigns in Libya, Greece and Syria in 1941, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (1942) and mentioned in despatches. and directed the introduction of the first House of Assembly elected by full adult franchise; he restructured the public service so that it would be dominated by Papua New Guineans, paid at a rate the country could afford; and he continued the elimination of discriminatory legislation, most obviously ending the liquor ban in 1962. Accorded a state funeral, he was buried in the cemetery at Bomana. He was survived by his wife, Lady Rachel (née Evans), and their two sons. Rachel continued living in their house on Lawes Road in Port Moresby.