Flag at Half-Mast: The Honourable Dr Race Mathews

On 23 May the Australian Flag at Fed Square will be flown at half-mast to commemorate The Honourable Dr Race Mathews.

Race joined the Victorian Labor Party in 1956 and went on to serve in all three levels of government (local, state, federal). In Victoria, he was Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for the Arts, and Minister for Community Services.

Race left his biggest political mark as Principal Private Secretary to former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam where he helped shape policies on education and healthcare, including the early design for what would later become Medicare.

Race was a champion of the arts. He served on the boards of the Melbourne Recital Centre and Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), and helped establish the Arts Centre and the Melbourne Writers’ Festival.