Emmet McDermott

Sir Lawrence Emmet McDermott KBE (6 September 1911 – 31 August 2002) was an Australian dentist, politician and Lord Mayor of Sydney between 1969 and 1972.^[1]

Sir Emmet McDermott KBE
73rd Lord Mayor of Sydney
In office 27 September 1969 – 31 December 1972
Deputy	Nicholas Shehadie
Preceded by	John Armstrong
Succeeded by	David Griffin
Alderman of the Sydney City Council
In office 1 December 1962 – 13 November 1967
Constituency	Gipps Ward
In office 27 September 1969 – 16 September 1977
Constituency	Macquarie Ward
Personal details
Born	(1911-09-06)6 September 1911 Glebe, New South Wales, Australia
Died	31 August 2002(2002-08-31) (aged 90)
Political party	Civic Reform Association
Spouse(s)	Arline Hagon (m.1939–d.1987) Eula McDonald (–2002)
Children	John Emmet McDermott Anne Keeling
Alma mater	University of Sydney Northwestern University
Profession	Dental surgeon

Early life

Emmet McDermott was born in Glebe, the sixth of ten children. Educated at St Ignatius' College and the University of Sydney where he graduated in dentistry, he earned a doctorate of dentistry from Northwestern University in Chicago.^[1] McDermott was Consultant Dental Surgeon at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital from 1942 and also worked at the Sydney Dental Hospital. He was the President of the Australian Dental Association (NSW) from 1960 to 1961 and became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (FRACDS).^[1]

City of Sydney

Joining the Civic Reform Association, he was elected to the Council of the City of Sydney in 1962, becoming Lord Mayor in 1969.

As Lord Mayor, he was instrumental in the preservation of the historic Queen Victoria Building and the conversion of Martin Place into a pedestrian mall.^[2]

Later life

In the 1972 New Year Honours he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the civil division.^[3]

Sir Emmet McDermott died in 2002 age 90. He is survived by his son and daughter from his first marriage, and his second wife.^{[citation needed]}