Hugh D.T. Williamson

Hugh Dean Thomas Williamson C.B.E. (1901–1985) was an Australian banking executive and philanthropist.

Williamson was born 4 February 1901 in Ballarat and died 20 December 1985 in Melbourne. He was the son of John Christopher Williamson and Jane (née Thomas) Williamson. In 1929 he married Louise Buchanan McPherson. Near the time of his retirement they began living apart. He met Elaine Berkefeld, who became his companion for the remainder of his life. As general manager, he was responsible for eliminating the fractious attitudes following the merger, smoothing an adversarial relationship with the central bank, mechanizing back office operations, and improving branch efficiencies.

Post-retirement he applied the profits from his extensive investments to support his community interests, which included the Salvation Army and the trust of the Victorian Arts Centre. Through Williamson's will, the Hugh Williamson Foundation was established in 1986, and distributes more than A$1M per year. the environment, scholarships and community leadership, in particular the eponymous Williamson Community Leadership Program (which later became Leadership Victoria).