Governor of Tasmania
Governor of Tasmania | |
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![]() Badge of the Governor
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Viceroy | |
Style | Her Excellency |
Residence | Government House, Hobart |
Appointer | Elizabeth II |
Term length | At Her Majesty's pleasure |
Formation | 8 January 1855 |
First holder | Sir Henry Fox Young |
Website | www |
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]
Contents
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 | ![]() |
Major Sir George Strahan KCMG | 7 December 1881 | 28 October 1886 |
6 | 80px | Sir Robert Hamilton KCB | 11 March 1887 | 30 November 1892 |
7 | ![]() |
The Rt Hon. The Viscount Gormanston GCMG | 8 August 1893 | 14 August 1900 |
8 | ![]() |
Captain Sir Arthur Havelock GCSI GCMG GCIE | 8 November 1901 | 16 April 1904 |
9 | ![]() |
The Rt Hon. The Lord Strickland GCMG | 28 October 1904 | 20 May 1909 |
10 | ![]() |
Major-General Sir Harry Barron KCMG CVO | 16 September 1909 | 3 March 1913 |
11 | ![]() |
The Rt Hon. Sir William Ellison-Macartney KCMG | 4 June 1913 | 31 March 1917 |
12 | ![]() |
Sir Francis Newdegate GCMG KStJ | 30 March 1917 | 22 February 1920 |
13 | ![]() |
Sir William Allardyce KCMG | 16 April 1920 | 27 January 1922 |
14 | ![]() |
Sir James O'Grady KCMG | 23 December 1924 | 23 December 1930 |
15 | ![]() |
Sir Ernest Clark GCMG KCB CBE | 4 August 1933 | 4 August 1945 |
16 | ![]() |
Admiral Sir Hugh Binney KCB KCMG DSO | 24 December 1945 | 8 May 1951 |
17 | ![]() |
The Rt Hon. Sir Ronald Cross, Bt KCMG KCVO PC | 22 August 1951 | 4 June 1958 |
18 | ![]() |
The Rt Hon. The Lord Rowallan KT KBE MC TD | 21 October 1959 | 25 March 1963 |
19 | ![]() |
General Sir Charles Gairdner GBE KCMG KCVO CB | 24 September 1963 | 11 July 1968 |
20 | ![]() |
Lieutenant-General Sir Edric Bastyan KCMG KCVO KBE CB | 2 December 1968 | 30 November 1973 |
21 | ![]() |
The Hon. Sir Stanley Burbury KCMG KCVO KBE | 5 December 1973 | 16 March 1982 |
22 | ![]() |
Sir James Plimsoll AC CBE KStJ | 1 October 1982 | 8 May 1987 |
23 | General Sir Phillip Bennett AC KBE DSO KStJ | 19 October 1987 | 2 October 1995 | |
24 | ![]() |
The Hon. Sir Guy Green AC KBE CVO | 2 October 1995 | 3 October 2003 |
25 | ![]() |
Richard Butler AC | 3 October 2003 | 9 August 2004 |
26 | ![]() |
The Hon. William Cox AC RFD ED QC | 15 December 2004 | 2 April 2008 |
27 | ![]() |
The Hon. Peter Underwood AC | 2 April 2008 | 7 July 2014 |
28 | ![]() |
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.
Name | Term as governor | Date 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 |
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