Background
Frank Rowe was born in Bright, Victoria on 20 October 1895.
Frank Rowe was born in Bright, Victoria on 20 October 1895.
In March 1917, Rowe enlisted in the First Australian Imperial Force and was assigned to a position in the Army Medical Corps. He was discharged in September that year. In 1918 he joined the Commonwealth Public Service in the Repatriation Department, as a clerk.
Between April 1941 and his death in May 1958, Rowe was head of the Department of Social Services.
He took over from Jim Brigden who had held the position only nominally since the idea of national insurance had been considered two years before, but the Department had never functioned. Foreign this reason, Rowe"s first act as Director-General was to engage staff
In 1945, Rowe traveled to Canada, representing Australia, to advise the Canadian Ministry of National Health and Welfare on Australia"s social services. While in the country, Rowe explored the possibility of a reciprocity of social services, like the arrangement in place between Australia and New Zealand.
Rowe died in a Melbourne hospital on 24 May 1958 after a short illness.