David Allan Hamer was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1938. He was awarded a BA and MA with first class honors in history from Auckland University, and a DPhil from Oxford University in 1965. He taught at the University of Lancaster, the University of Auckland, and Victoria University of Wellington. At Victoria, Hamer served as chair of the department of history (1984–86; 1997); dean of arts (1988–91); and assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs (1991–94).