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Governor of Tasmania
Vice-regal representative of the monarch in Tasmania
Vice-regal representative of the monarch in Tasmania
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| post | Governor |
| body | Tasmania |
| flag | Flag of the Governor of Tasmania.svg |
| flagsize | 150px |
| flagcaption | Flag of the Governor |
| insignia | Tudor Crown watermark.svg |
| insigniasize | 65px |
| image | Barbara Baker 2022.jpg |
| imagesize | 150px |
| incumbent | Barbara Baker |
| incumbentsince | 16 June 2021 |
| department | Viceregal |
| style | Her Excellency |
| residence | Government House, Hobart |
| appointer | Monarch |
| appointer_qualified | on the advice of the premier |
| termlength | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| termlength_qualified | (typically 5 years) |
| formation | 8 January 1855 |
| first | Sir Henry Fox Young |
| website |
The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the monarch, currently . The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the governor is Government House located at the Queens Domain in Hobart. The governor's primary task is to perform the sovereign's constitutional duties on their behalf.
The position has its origins in the positions of commandant and lieutenant-governor in the colonial administration of Van Diemen's Land. The territory was separated from the Colony of New South Wales in 1825 and the title "governor" was used from 1855, the same year in which it adopted its current name. In accordance with the conventions of the Westminster system of parliamentary government, the governor now almost always acts on the advice of the head of the elected government, the premier of Tasmania.
Tasmania retained British-born governors longer than most other states. The first Australian-born governor was Sir Stanley Burbury (appointed 1973) and 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 immigrated to Australia when a teenager.
Role
The responsibilities of the Governor of Tasmania include:
- dissolving or proroguing the Parliament of Tasmania
- issuing writs for Tasmanian elections and elections for Tasmanian Senators
- appointing the Premier and other state Ministers
- assenting to Bills, issuing regulations and other proclamations
- presiding over meetings of the Executive Council
- appointing judges, royal commissioners, and individuals to statutory boards and to tribunals.
Although not a responsibility of the office of Governor of Tasmania, governors of Tasmania are - like all Governors of the Australian states - normally given a dormant commission to administer the government of the Commonwealth of Australia in the absence from Australia, or the death, incapacity or removal from office of the Governor-General by the Sovereign.
Titles
Since December 2014, the incumbent and all future Tasmanian governors have been entitled to be styled as Their Excellency The Honourable while in office and styled The Honourable after retirement.
Governor's personal flag
The personal flag of the governor of Tasmania is the same design as the British blue ensign with the Union Flag at the upper left quarter. On the right side, the state badge of Tasmania, consisting of a white disk with a red lion passant, is surmounted by St. Edward's Crown. The flag was adopted in 1977.
If the standard is flying at Government House, on a vehicle or vessel, or at an event, this indicates that the governor is present.
;Past and present flags of the governor File: Flag of the Governor of Tasmania (1875–1876).svg |1875–1876 File: Flag of the Governor of Tasmania (1876–1977).svg|1876–1977 File: Flag of the Governor of Tasmania.svg|1977–present
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. 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.
Lieutenant-governors and commandants in the south
| No. | Lieutenant-governor | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [[File:David Collins.jpg | 80px]] | Colonel David Collins | 1804 |
| 2 | Lieutenant Edward Lord | |||
| (Commandant at Hobart Town) | March 1810 | |||
| 3 | Captain John Murray | |||
| (Commandant at Hobart Town) | 1810 | |||
| 4 | Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Geils | |||
| (Commandant at Hobart Town) | 1812 |
Commandants in the north
| No. | Commandant at Port Dalrymple | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [[File:Colonel William Paterson.jpg | 80px]] | Colonel William Paterson | 1804 |
| 2 | Captain John Brabyn | 1808 | ||
| 3 | Major George Alexander Gordon | 1810 | ||
| 4 | Captain John Ritchie | 1812 |
List of governors of Tasmania
Lieutenant-governors
The colony was called Van Diemen's Land until 1856.
| No. | Lieutenant-governor | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [[File:Thomas Davey.jpg | 80px]] | Colonel Thomas Davey | 4 February 1813 |
| 2 | [[File:William Sorell.jpg | 80px]] | Colonel William Sorell | 9 March 1817 |
| 3 | [[File:Major-General Sir George Arthur.jpg | 80px]] | Sir George Arthur | 14 May 1824 |
| 4 | [[File:John Franklin.jpg | 80px]] | Sir John Franklin | 5 January 1837 |
| 5 | [[File:John Eardley Wilmot.jpg | 80px]] | Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, 1st Baronet | 21 August 1843 |
| 6 | [[File:William Denison.jpg | 80px]] | Sir William Denison | 25 January 1847 |
Governor-in-chief
| No. | Governor | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [[File:Sir Henry Young.jpg | 80px]] | Sir Henry Young | 8 January 1855 |
Governors
| No. | Governor | From | To | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [[File:Thomas Gore Browne.jpg | 80px]] | Colonel Sir Thomas Browne | 11 December 1862 | |
| 2 | [[File:Charles Du Cane.jpg | 80px]] | Sir Charles Du Cane | 15 January 1869 | |
| 3 | [[File:Frederick Weld.jpg | 80px]] | Sir Frederick Weld | 13 January 1875 | |
| 4 | [[File:John Henry Lefroy.jpg | 80px]] | Sir John Henry Lefroy | 1880 | |
| 5 | [[File:George Strahan portrait.jpg | 80px]] | Major Sir George Strahan | 7 December 1881 | |
| 6 | [[File:Robert G.C. Hamilton.jpg | 80px | ]] | Sir Robert Hamilton | 11 March 1887 |
| 7 | [[File:Jenico Preston.jpg | 80px]] | Jenico Preston, 14th Viscount Gormanston | 8 August 1893 | |
| 8 | [[File:Arthur Havelock.jpg | 80px]] | Captain Sir Arthur Havelock | 8 November 1901 | |
| 9 | [[File:Gerald Strickland 1930s.jpg | 80px]] | Sir Gerald Strickland | 28 October 1904 | |
| 10 | [[File:HarryBarron.jpg | 80px]] | Major-General Sir Harry Barron | 16 September 1909 | |
| 11 | [[File:WGEllison-Macartney.jpg | 80px]] | Sir William Ellison-Macartney | 4 June 1913 | |
| 12 | [[File:Francis Newdegate.jpg | 80px]] | Sir Francis Newdegate | 30 March 1917 | |
| 13 | [[File:William Lamond Allardyce.jpg | 80px]] | Sir William Allardyce | 16 April 1920 | |
| 14 | [[File:James O'Grady.jpg | 80px]] | Sir James O'Grady | 23 December 1924 | |
| 15 | [[File:Sir Ernest Clark.jpg | 80px]] | Sir Ernest Clark | 4 August 1933 | |
| 16 | [[File:Hugh Binney.jpeg | 80px]] | Admiral Sir Hugh Binney | 24 December 1945 | |
| 17 | [[File:Ronald Cross.jpg | 80px]] | Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet | 22 August 1951 | |
| 18 | Thomas Corbett, 2nd Baron Rowallan | 21 October 1959 | |||
| 19 | Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Gairdner | 24 September 1963 | |||
| 20 | Lieutenant-General Sir Edric Bastyan | 2 December 1968 | |||
| 21 | Sir Stanley Burbury | 5 December 1973 | |||
| 22 | [[File:James Plimsoll 1958-02 (cropped).jpg | 80px]] | Sir James Plimsoll | 1 October 1982 | |
| 23 | [[File:Sir Phillip Bennett preparing to lay wreath, May 7, 1992.JPEG | 80px]] | General Sir Phillip Bennett | 19 October 1987 | |
| 24 | Sir Guy Green | 2 October 1995 | |||
| 25 | Richard Butler | 3 October 2003 | |||
| 26 | William Cox | 15 December 2004 | |||
| 27 | [[File:Peter_Underwood_2012.jpg | 80px]] | Peter Underwood | 2 April 2008 | |
| 28 | [[File:Kate Warner 2016.jpg | 80px]] | Professor Kate Warner | 10 December 2014 | |
| 29 | [[File:Barbara Baker 2022.jpg | 80px]] | Barbara Baker | 16 June 2021 |
References
Sources
References
- (4 December 1985). "Section 7, Australia Act 1986". [[Office of Parliamentary Counsel (Australia).
- "Role of the Governor". The Governor of Tasmania.
- (22 August 2024). "Commission to Administer the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC". [[Office of Parliamentary Counsel (Australia).
- (2012). "House of Representatives Practice". Department of the House of Representatives, Commonwealth of Australia.
- (10 December 2014). "Appointment of Catherine (Kate) Ann Warner AM, to be Governor". Tasmanian Government Gazette.
- [http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/governor/pastgovs.html Past Governors] {{webarchive. link. (2006-06-17 .)
- "Documenting Democracy".
- Widowson, Henry: ''Present State of Van Diemen's Land'', 1829.
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