Governors Generally

Queen Victoria

1. 1901 - 1903 Hope, Rt Hon John Adrian Louis, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC

King Edward VII

1. 1901 - 1903 Hope, Rt Hon John Adrian Louis, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC
2. 1903 - 1904 Tennyson, Rt Hon Hallam, 2nd Baron Tennyson, GCMG, PC Twickenham, England, UK
3. 1904 - 1908 Northcote, Rt Hon Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Northcote, GCMG, GCIE, CB, PC London, England, UK
4. 1908 - 1911 Ward, Rt Hon William Humble, 2nd Earl of Dudley, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, TD, PC London, England, UK




King George V


4. 1908 - 1911 Ward, Rt Hon William Humble, 2nd Earl of Dudley, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, TD, PC London, England, UK
5. 1911 - 1914 Denman, Rt Hon Thomas, 3rd Baron Denman, GCMG, KCVO, PC, JP London, England, UK
6. 1914 - 1920 Munro-Ferguson, Rt Hon Sir Ronald Craufurd, GCMG, PC Fife, Scotland, UK
7. 1920 - 1925 Forster, Rt Hon Henry William, lst Baron Forster, GCMG, PC, DL Kent, England, UK
8. 1925 - 1931 Baird, Rt Hon John Lawrence, 1st Baron Stonehaven, GCMG, DSO, PC, JP, DL London, England, UK
9. 1931 - 1936 Isaacs, Rt Hon Sir Isaac Alfred, GCB, GCMG, PC Melbourne, VIC
10. 1936 - 1945 Hore-Ruthven, Brigadier General the Rt Hon Alexander Gore Arkwright, lst Baron Gowrie, VC, GCMG, CB, DSO, PC Windsor, England, UK


King Edward VIII

10. 1936 - 1945 Hore-Ruthven, Brigadier General the Rt Hon Alexander Gore Arkwright, lst Baron Gowrie, VC, GCMG, CB, DSO, PC Windsor, England, UK


King George VI

11. 1945 - 1947 Henry, Duke of Gloucester, HRH Prince Henry William Frederick Albert, Earl of Ulster and Baron Culloden, KG, KT, KP, GCB, GCMG, GCVO Sandringham, England, UK
12. 1947 - 1953 McKell, Rt Hon Sir William John, GCMG, PC Pambula, NSW


Queen Elizabeth II

12. 1947 - 1953 McKell, Rt Hon Sir William John, GCMG, PC Pambula, NSW
13. 1953 - 1960 Slim, Field Marshal Sir William Joseph, KG, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, DSO, MC Bristol, England, UK
14. 1960 - 1961 Morrison, Rt Hon William Shepherd, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, GCMG, MC, QC, PC Argyll, Scotland, UK
15. 1961 - 1965 De L'Isle, Rt Hon William Phillip Sidney, lst Viscount De L'Isle, KG, VC, GCMG, GCVO, PC London, England, UK
16. 1965 - 1969 Casey, Rt Hon Richard Gardiner, Baron Casey, KG, GCMG, CH, DSO, MC, PC Brisbane, QLD
17. 1969 - 1974 Hasluck, Rt Hon Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla, KG, GCMG, GCVO Fremantle, WA
18. 1974 - 1977 Kerr, Rt Hon. Sir John Robert, AK, GCMG, GCVO, QC Sydney, NSW
19. 1977 - 1982 Cowen, Rt Hon. Sir Zelman, AK, GCMG, GCVO, QC Melbourne, VIC
20. 1982 - 1989 Stephen, Rt Hon. Sir Ninian, KG, AK, GCMG, GCVO, KBE, QC Oxford, England, UK
21. 1989 - 1996 Hayden, The Honourable William George, AC Brisbane, QLD
22. 1996 - 2001 Deane, The Honourable Sir William Patrick, AC, KBE Melbourne, VIC
23. 2001 - 2003 Hollingworth, The Right Reverend Dr Peter, AC OBE Adelaide, SA
24. His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery, AC, CVO, MC (Retd)


The funny thing about a blog is that it's one of the few places you get to wield that same kind of discretionary power. I didn't like what I wrote originally so I edited history.

You'll note that I've left all the titles and honorifics in this time. That's because they are the norm, almost a prerequisite, with Bill Hayden the first non-knight (and, indeed, republican) among them. Although they are of varying importance to Australia and to society, most are quite accomplished in their lives, though this is not to say that at any given point there were not more suitable candidates to have over ride powers to the government of the day. Some politicking is bound to creep in when the government of the day 'puts up for submission' their choice for the role: Bob paid his Bill and Peter was sent packing. I can only go back thirty years reliably but the one who made most impact on me was Sir William Deane; someone you'd call 'a thoroughly decent bloke'. Which is all you can hope for from this position.

A list like this tells you only a little about the ordinary history of Australian men and women. Then again there's a cricketer in there; representative of our love for the game. Even if he did play for England. There's a Prince, who had his co-loni-al duty to perform (Prince Charles was once touted for the role), but there's also a police officer, who can rouse you on to tighten your seatbelt or can shoot you in a riot but is kept to the beat most of the time. (he did quite a few other things after he left the Queensland police force though) There's a couple of Scots amongst the Englishmen but we do get a Melburnian as early as 1931. Sir Isaac Isaacs is the first Jewish Australian to rise to this height but not the last. And every major Australian city (and Pambula) has had their turn since. Our last gasp of colonial grasp went with the 1st Viscount De L'isle who departed these shores in 1965 when I was three years old. Ta ta.

Sir Ninian Stephen is representative of that other type of Englishman, the immigrant. As our largest migrant intake to this day, it is not that surprising that it should be an English Australian in the role. But, with the appointment of an Australian Aboriginal and an Australian Lebanese [woman] as state governors, it is perhaps a matter of time before we see more diversity at the national level.