Governors of New South Wales

Governors of New South Wales
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The Governor of New South Wales is the representative in the Australian state of New South Wales of Australia's head of state, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level.

The office of Governor of New South Wales is the oldest constitutional office in Australia. Captain Arthur Phillip assumed office as Governor of New South Wales on 7th February 1788, when the Colony of New South Wales, the first British settlement in Australia, was formally founded. The early colonial governors held an almost autocratic power due to the distance from and poor communications with Great Britain, until 1824 when the New South Wales Legislative Council, Australia's first legislative body, was appointed to advise the governor.[1]

Between 1850 and 1861, the Governor of New South Wales was titled Governor-General in an early attempt at federalism imposed by Earl Grey. All communication between the Australian colonies and the British Government was meant to go through the Governor-General, and the other colonies had Lieutenant-Governors. As Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania obtained responsible government, their Lieutenant-Governors were replaced by Governors. Although he had ceased acting as a Governor-General, Sir William Denison retained the title until his retirement.[2]

In accordance with the conventions of the Westminster system of parliamentary government, the Governor nearly always acts solely on the advice of the head of the elected government, the Premier of New South Wales. Nevertheless, the Governor retains the reserve powers of the Crown, and has the right to dismiss the Premier. This power was last exercised in 1932, when Sir Philip Game dismissed Jack Lang.

The Governor of New South Wales previously used Government House as a residence, office and official reception space. However, in 1999, at the direction of Premier Bob Carr, the Governor has not used it as a residence. The Governor's present day office is the historic Chief Secretary’s Building nearby, at 121 Macquarie Street.

See Governors of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Governor.

[edit]
List of Governors of New South Wales

the flag of the Governor of New South Wales
Captain Arthur Phillip, RN, 1788-1792
Captain John Hunter, RN, 1795-1800
Captain Philip King, RN, 1800-1806
Captain William Bligh, RN, 1806-1808
Colonel William Paterson (acting), 1809
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, 1810-1821
Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane, 1821-1825
Lieutenant-General Ralph Darling, 1825-1831
Major-General Sir Richard Bourke, 1831-1837
Sir George Gipps, 1838-1846
Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, 1846-1855
Sir William Denison, 1855-1861
John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar, 1861-1867
Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore, 1868-1872
Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, 1872-1879
Lord Augustus Loftus, 1879-1885
Charles Wynn-Carington, 3rd Baron Carrington, 1885-1890
Victor Albert George Child-Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey, 1891-1893
Sir Robert Duff, 1893-1895
Henry Robert Brand, 2nd Viscount Hampden, 1895-1899
William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, 1899-1901
Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, 1902-1909
Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford, 1909-1913
Sir Gerald Strickland, 1913-1917
Sir Walter Davidson, 1918-1923
Admiral Sir Dudley de Chair, 1924-1930
Air Vice-Marshal Sir Philip Game, 1930-1935
Brigadier-General Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1935-1936
Admiral Sir David Anderson, 1936
John de Vere Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst, 1937-1946
General Sir John Northcott, 1946-1957
Lieutenant-General Sir Eric Woodward, 1957-1965
Sir Roden Cutler, 1966-1981
Air Marshal Sir James Rowland, 1981-1989
Rear Admiral Sir David Martin, 1989-1990
Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair, 1990-1996
The Hon. Gordon Samuels, 1996-2001
Professor Marie Bashir, 2001-present

[edit]
References
^ NSW Parliament. History of the Legislative Council. Accessed 10 August 2007.
^ Twomey, Anne (2006). The chameleon Crown: The Queen and her Australian governors. Sydney: The Federation Press. ISBN 978-1-86287-629-3. [show]
v • d • e
Governors of the Australian states
[show]
v • d • e
Government of New South Wales


Categories: Governors of New South Wales | Monarchy in Australia | Viceroys in Australia | Parliament of New South Wales
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This page was last modified 08:28, 24 September 2007. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.)
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