OBITUARIES
In recognition of his contributions to food technology and humanity Alex was made a Member of the Order of Australia ( AM ) in 2009 .
Alex ’ s other significant memberships and recognition included Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering ( ATSE ) and council membership , Fellowship of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology ( AIFST ) and its Award of Merit , a United Nations University World Hunger Program Council foundation member , foundation council membership and a Professorial Associate of Victoria University , President of the Rotary Club of Glenferrie , a Paul Harris Fellowship Sapphire award , and a Rotary Foundation Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award .
Alex ’ s personable ease and respectful goodwill to all endeared him to his family , friends and colleagues worldwide .
He died at Mornington on 25 October 2022 , survived by his wife , two children and five grandchildren .
HAIN , Leon (’ 53 )
Leon was born at Melbourne on 27 April 1936 , the son of Jewish Ukrainian refugees Sim and Vera ( nee Jacobson ) Hain . Winning a Junior Entrance Scholarship , Leon attended Scotch from 1950 to 1953 . A keen chess player , he later donated chess trophies to Scotch . Also at Scotch was his cousin Abram ‘ Abey ’ Kuchmar ( born 21.8.1930 , SC 1941-48 , later called Allan Braham Kenmar , died 19.8.2009 ).
Leon studied Pharmacy while doing National Service ( 1955-56 ) in the Royal Australian Army Corps , Field Ambulance , where he trained in rescuing and treating accident victims . Graduating in 1959 , Leon began six years as a locum pharmacy manager in more than 100 Victorian pharmacies .
In 1965 Leon purchased a pharmacy at North Melbourne near the new high-rise Housing Commission flats .
With no doctors nearby , Leon was the residents ’ first aid and health adviser . When customers complained of gastric infections , Leon learned the new flats ’ kitchens had no hot water . After contacting the Health Minister , all Housing Commission residences began to be provided with it .
The nearby Boundary Road Primary School ’ s failed water supply caused hepatitis cases . Leon – as a pharmacist , and School Chairman ( 1971-76 ) – contacted the media , and invited Federal Education Minister Malcolm Fraser to visit . Fraser came , bringing funding to bulldoze and rebuild the school . Leon served on the councils of Auburn South Primary School , University High School , Bialik College and Canterbury Girls ’ Secondary College .
A member of the North and West Melbourne Elderly Citizens Committee ( 1965-82 ), Leon fought for elderly people living alone in a 12-storey high-rise .
In 1985 , Leon was invited to give evidence on bus safety at a House of Representatives inquiry . He became spokesman on bus and traffic safety for the Victorian Council of School Organisations ( 1985-2006 ). In 1987 Leon called for a ban on standing bus passengers , with Victoria agreeing a decade later . He was a member of the 1990-91 Victorian Bus Safety Working Party , from which stemmed the worldfirst bus seatbelt standard , ADR68 .
On 23 November 2013 he received the 3M-Australasian College of Road Safety Diamond Road Safety Award for his project ‘ Obtaining Lap Sash Seat Belted Non-Urban Buses Worldwide ’. Days later the United States Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced new large buses would require lap sash seatbelts and other safety features from 2016 , and thanked Leon for liaising with it . On 13 November 2014 the Governor-General presented Leon with an additional 3M-ACRS award for advocating improvements in Australian bus safety standards and for his innovative contributions to improving road safety .
On 2 November 1969 Leon married Jeanette Freeman at the St Kilda Hebrew Congregation .
He died at Doncaster on 18 January 2023 , survived by Jeanette , and daughters Rachel and Tamara . A son , Joel , died on 6 June 1999 .
HANSEN , Laurits Alexander ( Laurie ) (’ 43 ) Laurie ’ s son , Ian (’ 67 ), wrote :
Laurie was born on 23 October 1925 at St Helen ’ s Hospital , Windsor , the son of Laurits Vernon Hansen ( born 18.8.1898 , SC 1912-13 , died 24 August 1971 ), and attended Scotch from 1938 to 1941 . Other Scotch relatives were his brother Colin John Hansen ( born 30.8.1929 , SC 1940-45 , died 8 May 2019 ), cousin Max ( SC 1943-51 ), sons Ian ( SC 1962-67 ), Robert ( SC 1965-68 ), Andrew ( SC 1965-70 ) and Philip ( SC 1969-73 ) and grandson Christopher ( SC 1990-95 ). Beginning work as a clerk at the Mercantile Mutual Insurance Company in 1942 , Laurie then enlisted in the RAAF in 1943 and served as a telegraphist in Papua New Guinea from December 1944 to March 1946 .
After returning to Australia , Laurie worked in various positions with Mercantile Mutual and G J Coles & Coy Ltd from 1947 to 1951 . He met Jean Doreen Cross while working at Mercantile Mutual , and they married at Scotch on 12 February 1949 .
Most of Laurie ’ s working life ( 1951 to 1980 ) was spent as a bank officer at the National Australia Bank . In retirement , Laurie and Jean travelled widely until the early 2000s .
A keen sportsman , Laurie played competition table tennis for the RSL , and was an active member of Kew Golf Club for many years . Overriding all this was his passionate support of the Collingwood Football Club . Among a number of impressive achievements , Laurie attended 71 consecutive VFL / AFL Grand Finals from 1947 to 2017 , and attended his final Collingwood match at the age of 92 .
Laurie died at Donvale on 21 January 2023 .
104 Great Scot Issue 168 – May 2023