Governor of South Australia
| Governor of South Australia | |
|---|---|
|
Badge of the Governor | |
| Viceroy | |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Residence | Government House, Adelaide |
| Appointer | Australian monarch |
| Term length | At His/Her Majesty's pleasure |
| Formation | 28 December 1836 |
| First holder | Captain John Hindmarsh |
| Website | Office of the Governor |
The Governor of South Australia is the representative in the Australian state of South Australia of 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 Governor's official residence is Government House, in Adelaide, the state's capital.
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 South Australia. Nevertheless, the Governor retains the reserve powers of the Crown, and has the right to dismiss the Premier. The Westminster system is a form of constitutional monarchy.
The first Australian-born Governor of South Australia was Major-General Sir James Harrison (appointed 1968), and most subsequent governors have been Australian-born. The first South Australian-born governor was Sir Mark Oliphant (appointed 1971), and the first Aboriginal governor was Sir Douglas Nicholls (appointed 1976).
The current governor is Hieu Van Le.[1] The term of the previous governor, Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce, expired on 7 August 2014.[2]
As from June 2014, the Queen, upon the recommendation of the Premier, accorded all current, future and living former Governors the title 'The Honourable' for life.[3]
List of Governors of South Australia
The first six Governors of South Australia oversaw governance from proclamation in 1836 until self-government and an elected Parliament of South Australia was enacted in the year prior to the inaugural 1857 election.
Administrators (acting governors)
These people administered the government in the absence of the official governor.[4]
| Administrator | Term |
|---|---|
| George Milner Stephen | 1838 |
| Boyle Travers Finniss | 1854-55 |
| Lt.-Col. Francis Gilbert Hamley | 1868-69 |
| Major James Harwood Rocke | 1870 |
| Hon. Sir Richard Davies Hanson, Chief Justice | 1872-73 |
| Sir William Wellington Cairns, K.C.M.G | 1877 |
| Hon. Samuel James Way, Chief Justice, Lt.-Gov. | 1877 to 1915 (on 65 separate occasions) |
| Hon. James Penn Boucaut, Judge of Supreme Court | 1885, 1886, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1897 |
| Hon. William Henry Bundey, Judge of Supreme Court | 1888 |
| Hon. Sir George John Robert Murray, Chief Justice, Lt.-Gov. | 1916–24, 1926–42 (on 103 separate occasions) |
| Hon. Thomas Slaney Poole, Judge of Supreme Court | 1925 (on 2 occasions) |
| Hon. Sir Herbert Angas Parsons, Judge of Supreme Court | 1935 to 1942 (on 6 separate occasions) |
| Hon. Sir John Mellis Napier, Chief Justice, Lt.-Gov. | 1942 to 1973 (on 179 separate occasions) |
| Hon. Sir Herbert Mayo, Judge of Supreme Court | 1946 to 1965 (on 25 separate occasions) |
| Hon. Sir Geoffrey Sandford Reed, Judge of Supreme Court | 1951 to 1957 (on 5 separate occasions) |
| Hon. John Jefferson Bray, Chief Justice | 1968 to 1973 (on 8 separate occasions) |
| Hon. David Stirling Hogarth, Judge of Supreme Court | 1971 |
| Sir Walter Russell Crocker, Lt.-Gov. | 1973 to 1982 (on 29 separate occasions) |
| Hon. Sir Condor Laucke, Lt.-Gov. | 1982 to 1992 (on 43 separate occasions) |
| Hon. Leonard James King, A.C., Chief Justice | 1987 |
| Hon. Dr. Basil Stuart Hetzel, Lt.-Gov. | 1992 to 2000 (on 32 separate occasions) |
| Hon. John Jeremy Doyle, Chief Justice | 1999- (on 10 separate occasions) |
| Hon. Bruno Krumins, Lt.-Gov. | 2000- (on 60 separate occasions) |
| Hon. John William Perry, Judge of Supreme Court | 2002 |
| Hieu Van Le, Lt.-Gov. | 2014 |
Living former governors
Three former governors are alive, the oldest being Sir Eric Neal (1996–2001, born 1924). The latest-serving former governor to die was Dame Roma Mitchell (1991–1996), on 5 March 2000. The most recent death of a former governor was that of Sir Keith Seaman (1977-1982), on 30 June 2013.
| Name | Term as governor | Date of birth |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Eric Neal | 1996–2001 | 3 June 1924 |
| Marjorie Jackson-Nelson | 2001–2007 | 13 September 1931 |
| Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce | 2007–2014 | 4 May 1952 |
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Governors of South Australia. |
External links
References
- 1 2 Former refugee Hieu Van Le sworn in as South Australia's governor during official ceremony, ABC News, 1 September 2014.
- ↑ Hieu Van Le to be next SA Governor, from war-torn Vietnam to vice-regal post: ABC 26 June 2014
- ↑ SA Government Gazette
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 "Table A: Governors and Administrators" (PDF). Parliament of South Australia. 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
- ↑ Kevin Scarce appointed SA governor by Premier Mike Rann, Press release, 3 May 2007, www.ministers.sa.gov.au
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