Historical background
Blamey was a senior Australian commander in the Second World War, including Australian military command and Allied land-force responsibilities in the south-west Pacific. His career also attracted controversy; the founding coalition does not make every veteran an uncritical admirer of him.
He was promoted to field marshal on 8 June 1950 and died on 27 May 1951. Those historical dates remain in the CGSC chronology. Calling him Field Marshal Blamey in a later biography does not place that rank in 1946.
Emergency administration
The veterans' congress brings Blamey into the reconstruction council as its Army strategic adviser. His remit concerns a trained reserve, territorial defence, amphibious support, equipment standards and rehabilitation. He argues for an army able to sustain maritime operations without consuming the manpower needed for shipyards, agriculture and public services.
The congress remained the political authority, and Morshead was the appointed governor-general.
After the Compact
Following 1949, Blamey is a senior adviser rather than a parliamentary leader with a simultaneous operational command. Civilian ministers control expenditure. His advice helps frame the eventual balance of traditional infantry, armour, artillery, specialist support and the larger service-trained reserve.
His death in 1951 ends his direct contribution. The amphibious division is established in 1956, after his lifetime; he can influence its doctrinal background but cannot command or inaugurate it.
Historical source
Australian War Memorial, Thomas Blamey: Historical source