Charles Gairdner

Lieutenant General Sir Charles Gairdner GBE KCMG KCVO CB
23rd Governor of Western Australia
In office 6 November 1951 – 25 October 1963
Monarch	George VI (1951-52) Elizabeth II (1952-1963)
Premier	Sir Ross McLarty (1951-53) Albert Hawke (1953-59) Sir David Brand (1959-63)
Preceded by	Sir James Mitchell
Succeeded by	Sir Douglas Kendrew
19th Governor of Tasmania
In office 24 September 1963 – 11 July 1968
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Lord Rowallan
Succeeded by	Sir Edric Bastyan
Personal details
Born	20 March 1898 Batavia, Netherlands East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia)
Died	22 February 1983(1983-02-22) Nedlands, Western Australia
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Evelyn Constance Handcock
Profession	British Army soldier
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1916–1949
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	8th Armoured Division 6th Armoured Division 10th Royal Hussars
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire KCMG Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companion of the Order of the Bath Mentioned in Despatches Medal of Freedom (United States)

Lieutenant General Sir Charles Henry Gairdner GBE, KCMG, KCVO, CB (20 March 1898 – 22 February 1983) was a British soldier and military officer who later occupied two viceregal positions in Australia. Born in Batavia (now Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies, he was brought up in Ireland, and educated at Repton School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in England. Having served on active duty during World War I, in which he sustained a serious wound to his right leg, Gairdner then spent time at the Staff College, Camberley, and served as commanding officer of various units during World War II. In 1951, after the conclusion of the war, he was appointed Governor of Western Australia, a position in which served until 1963, when he assumed the role of Governor of Tasmania, a role he served in until 1968. Gairdner died in Nedlands, Western Australia, at the age of 84, and was awarded a state funeral.^[1]

Early life

Gairdner was born in Batavia, Netherlands East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia) in 1898. Brought up in County Galway, Ireland, he was educated at Repton School in England, and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.^[1] He married the Hon. Evelyn Constance Handcock, daughter of the 5th Lord Castlemain, in 1925.^[2]

Military career

Upon graduation, Gairdner was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the artillery in May 1916 and sent to the Western Front. In this campaign, he sustained a serious wound to the right leg which necessitated numerous operations throughout his life and eventual amputation in 1976.^[1] After the war he transferred to cavalry. He spent two years at the Staff College, Camberley from 1933 to 1934.^[2] As a lieutenant colonel, from 1937 to 1940 he was the commanding officer of the 10th Royal Hussars, before being chief of staff of the 7th Armoured Division then General Officer Commanding of the 6th and 8th Armoured Divisions.^[3][4] He was awarded the Medal of Freedom by the United States in London on 16 January 1947. He was appointed CB in 1946 and KCMG in 1948.^[1]

Governor of Western Australia and Tasmania

Gairdner's distinguished military career was rewarded in 1951 when he was appointed Governor of Western Australia. He was governor during a number of royal visits to Perth - the earliest being that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1954.^[5] His long residency in Western Australia was during a time when Perth and Western Australia were undergoing significant post-war change. He was very popular with the Western Australian public.^[1]

Gairdner's tenure was relatively free of political or constitutional crisis. When Labor's loss of the October 1955 Bunbury by-election resulted in the Albert Hawke government's losing its parliamentary majority, the possibility was raised that the governor might have to exercise his reserve powers. However the parliament remained in recess until Labor won the ensuing 1956 general election.^[1] The Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth was named in his honour in May 1963. Gairdner stepped down from his post on 26 June 1963. He lobbied for the position of Governor of Tasmania and on 23 September 1963 was appointed for five years.^[1]

In February 1969 the Gairdners returned to Perth and settled at Peppermint Grove. Survived by his wife, Sir Charles died on 22 February 1983 at Nedlands and was cremated after a state funeral.^[1]

Freemasonry

He was a freemason. During his terms as both Governor of Western Australia (1951-1963) and Governor of Tasmania (1963-1968), he was also Grand Master of the respective Grand Lodges.^[6]

References

v t e Governors of Tasmania Before Federation Young Browne Du Cane Weld Strahan Hamilton Viscount Gormanston After Federation Havelock Lord Strickland Barron Ellison-Macartney Newdegate O'Grady Allardyce Clark Binney Cross Lord Rowallan Gairdner Bastyan Burbury Plimsoll Bennett Green Butler Cox Underwood

v t e Governors of Western Australia Before Federation Stirling Hutt Clarke Irwin Fitzgerald Kennedy Hampton Pine Weld Robinson Ord Robinson Broome Robinson Smith After Federation Sir Arthur Lawley Bedford Strickland Barron Ellison-Macartney Newdegate Campion Mitchell Gairdner Kendrew Edwards Kyle Trowbridge Reid Burt Jeffery Sanderson Michael McCusker