Governor of Tasmania

Governor of Tasmania

Badge of the Governor
Incumbent
Kate Warner
AM
since 10 December 2014
Viceroy
Style Her Excellency
Residence Government House, Hobart
Appointer Australian monarch
Term length At Her Majesty's pleasure
Formation 8 January 1855
First holder Sir Henry Fox Young
Website www.govhouse.tas.gov.au
Standard of the Governor of Tasmania
Standard of the Governor of Tasmania (1876-1977)

The Governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as the Governor-General of Australia does at the national level.

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 Tasmania. Nevertheless, the Governor retains the reserve powers of the Crown, and has the right to dismiss the Premier.

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

The official residence of the Governor is Government House located at the Queens Domain.

The first Australian-born Governor of Tasmania was Sir Stanley Burbury (appointed 1973). The first Tasmanian-born governor was Sir Guy Green (appointed 1995). Since Burbury, all Tasmanian governors have been Australian-born, except for Peter Underwood, who was born in Britain but emigrated to Australia when a teenager. The position was vacant for over five months in 2014, due to the unexpected death of the incumbent Peter Underwood on 7 July, with Chief Justice and Lieutenant-Governor Alan Blow acting as Administrator. On 10 November, Premier Will Hodgman announced that University of Tasmania legal academic Kate Warner would be appointed as the state's first female governor.[1] Warner was sworn in on 10 December.

As from the appointment of Kate Warner as governor in December 2014, The Queen, upon the recommendation of the Premier, accorded Professor Warner, and all future Governors, the title 'The Honourable' for life.[2]

Divided in two

Between 1804 and 1813, Van Diemen's Land was divided along the 42nd parallel, and the two sections governed as separate "Lieutenant-Governorships" under the Governor of New South Wales.[3][4] Collins was the only officially appointed Lieutenant-Governor—upon his death in 1810, the government in Hobart Town was administered, by the Commandants at Hobart Town (Lord, Murray and Geils). The northern settlement at Port Dalrymple (now George Town) was administered by four Commandants until the settlements were merged to form the single colony under the governorship of Thomas Davey in 1813.[5]

Lieutenant-Governor and Commandants in the south

No. Lieutenant-Governor From To
1 Colonel David Collins 1804 1810
2 Lieutenant Edward Lord
(Commandant at Hobart Town)		 March 1810 July 1810
3 Captain John Murray
(Commandant at Hobart Town)		 1810 1812
4 Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Geils
(Commandant at Hobart Town)		 1812 1813

Commandants in the north

No. Commandant at Port Dalrymple From To
1 Colonel William Paterson 1804 1808
2 Captain John Brabyn 1808 1810
3 Major George Alexander Gordon 1810 1812
4 Captain John Ritchie 1812 1812

List of Governors of Tasmania

Lieutenant-Governors

The colony was called Van Diemen's Land until 1856.

No. Lieutenant-Governor From To
1 Colonel Thomas Davey 4 February 1813 9 March 1817
2 Colonel William Sorell 9 March 1817 14 May 1824
3 Colonel Sir George Arthur KCH 14 May 1824 29 October 1836
4 Captain Sir John Franklin KCH 5 January 1837 21 August 1843
5 Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, Bt 21 August 1843 13 October 1846
6 Sir William Denison KCB 25 January 1847 8 January 1855

Governors

No. Governor From To
1 Sir Henry Young KCMG 8 January 1855 10 December 1861
2 Colonel Sir Thomas Browne KCMG CB 11 December 1862 30 December 1868
3 Sir Charles Du Cane KCMG 15 January 1869 30 November 1874
4 The Hon. Sir Frederick Weld GCMG 13 January 1875 5 April 1880
5 The Hon. Sir John Henry Lefroy CB, GCMG 1880 1881
6 Major Sir George Strahan KCMG 7 December 1881 28 October 1886
7 Sir Robert Hamilton KCB 11 March 1887 30 November 1892
8 The Rt Hon. The Viscount Gormanston GCMG 8 August 1893 14 August 1900
9 Captain Sir Arthur Havelock GCSI GCMG GCIE 8 November 1901 16 April 1904
10 The Rt Hon. The Lord Strickland GCMG 28 October 1904 20 May 1909
11 Major-General Sir Harry Barron KCMG CVO 16 September 1909 3 March 1913
12 The Rt Hon. Sir William Ellison-Macartney KCMG 4 June 1913 31 March 1917
13 Sir Francis Newdegate GCMG KStJ 30 March 1917 22 February 1920
14 Sir William Allardyce KCMG 16 April 1920 27 January 1922
15 Sir James O'Grady KCMG 23 December 1924 23 December 1930
16 Sir Ernest Clark GCMG KCB CBE 4 August 1933 4 August 1945
17 Admiral Sir Hugh Binney KCB KCMG DSO 24 December 1945 8 May 1951
18 The Rt Hon. Sir Ronald Cross, Bt KCMG KCVO PC 22 August 1951 4 June 1958
19 The Rt Hon. The Lord Rowallan KT KBE MC TD 21 October 1959 25 March 1963
20 General Sir Charles Gairdner GBE KCMG KCVO CB 24 September 1963 11 July 1968
21 Lieutenant-General Sir Edric Bastyan KCMG KCVO KBE CB 2 December 1968 30 November 1973
22 The Hon. Sir Stanley Burbury KCMG KCVO KBE 5 December 1973 16 March 1982
23 Sir James Plimsoll AC CBE KStJ 1 October 1982 8 May 1987
24 General Sir Phillip Bennett AC KBE DSO KStJ 19 October 1987 2 October 1995
25 The Hon. Sir Guy Green AC KBE CVO 2 October 1995 3 October 2003
26 Richard Butler AC 3 October 2003 9 August 2004
27 The Hon. William Cox AC RFD ED QC 15 December 2004 2 April 2008
28 The Hon. Peter Underwood AC 2 April 2008 7 July 2014
29 The Hon. Professor Kate Warner AM 10 December 2014 Incumbent

Living former governors

Four former governors are alive, the oldest being Sir Phillip Bennett (1987–95, born 1928). The latest-serving former governor to die was Sir Stanley Burbury (1973–82), on 24 April 1995. The most recently serving governor to die was Peter Underwood (2008–14), who died in office on 7 July 2014.

NameTerm as governorDate of birth
Sir Phillip Bennett 1987–1995 27 December 1928
Sir Guy Green 1995–2003 26 July 1937
Richard Butler 2003–2004 13 May 1942
William Cox 2004–2008 1 April 1936

References

  1. ↑ "Kate Warner to be appointed 28th Tasmanian Governor". ABC News. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Tasmanian Gazette" (PDF). 10 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Past Governors.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-04-03. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
  5. ↑ Widowson, Henry: Present State of Van Diemen's Land, 1829.
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