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Governor of Western Australia

Representative of the monarch in Western Australia

Summary

Representative of the monarch in Western Australia

Field	Value
post	Governor
body	Western Australia
flag	Flag of the Governor of Western Australia.svg
flagsize	150px
flagcaption	Standard of the Governor
insignia	Logo for the Governor of Western Australia.svg
insigniasize	100px
insigniacaption	Badge of the governor
image	Chris Dawson 2022.jpg
imagesize	150px
incumbent	Chris Dawson
incumbentsince	15 July 2022
department	Viceregal
style	His Excellency the Honourable
residence	Government House, Perth
seat	Perth
appointer	Monarch
appointer_qualified	on the advice of the premier
termlength	At His Majesty's pleasure
termlength_qualified	(usually 5 years by convention)
formation	6 February 1832
first	Captain James Stirling
website

The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch, King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:

presiding over the Executive Council
proroguing and dissolving the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council
issuing writs for elections
appointing Ministers, Judges, Magistrates and Justices of the Peace

Furthermore, all bills passed by the Parliament of Western Australia require the governor's signature before they become acts and pass into law. However, since convention almost always requires the governor to act on the advice of the premier and the cabinet, such approval is almost always a formality.

Until the appointment of Sir James Mitchell in 1948, all governors of Western Australia had been British officials. After Mitchell's appointment, a further three Britons served as governor: Mitchell's two immediate successors, and then, from 1980 to 1983, Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Trowbridge who was the last non-Australian governor of any Australian state.

Although not a responsibility of the office of Governor of Western Australia, governors of Western Australia 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.

Styles

The governor of Western Australia is styled "His Excellency" during his term in office (or Her Excellency for a female governor). In August 2014, three of the four living past governors – John Sanderson, Ken Michael and Malcolm McCusker – were given the style "The Honourable", on the recommendation of the premier. The other living former governor, Michael Jeffery, already held the style in virtue of his later service as governor-general of Australia.

Governor's standard

The governor's standard of Western Australia 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 Western Australia, comprising a black swan in a yellow disc, is surmounted by the St. Edward's crown.

If the standard is flying at Government House, on a vehicle or at an event, this indicates that the governor is present.

File: Flag of the Governor of Western Australia (1870–1953).svg|1870–1953 File: Flag of the Governor of Western Australia (1953–1988).svg |1953-1988 File: Flag of the Governor of Western Australia.svg|1988 -present

List of governors and lieutenant-governors

List of governors

Stirling was only commissioned as the governor of Western Australia on 4 March 1831, rectifying the absence of a legal instrument providing the authority detailed in Stirling's instructions of 30 December 1828. Stirling had said of his own position: I believe I am the first Governor who ever formed a settlement without Commission, Laws, Instructions and Salary.

No.	Portrait	Governor	From	To
1	[[Image:Jamesstirling.jpg	80px]]	Captain Sir James Stirling	6 February 1832	title=GOVERNORS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA	url=https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/intranet/libpages.nsf/WebFiles/Fact+Sheets+HN7+Governors/$FILE/HN7+Governors.pdf	website=Parliament of Western Australia	access-date=21 October 2024	page=4}}
2	[[Image:John Hutt.jpg	80px]]	John Hutt	3 January 1839	26 January 1846
3	[[Image:Andrew Clarke.jpg	80px]]	Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Clarke	27 January 1846	11 February 1847
-	[[Image:Frederick Irwin (1788-1860).jpg	80px]]	Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Irwin (acting Governor)	12 February 1847	11 August 1848
4	[[Image:Charles Fitzgerald.jpg	80px]]	Captain Charles Fitzgerald	12 August 1848	22 July 1855
5	[[Image:ArthurEdwardKennedy.jpg	80px]]	Sir Arthur Kennedy	23 July 1855	27 February 1862
6	[[Image:John Hampton.jpg	80px]]	John Hampton	28 February 1862	1 November 1868
7	[[Image:Benjamin Pine.jpg	80px]]	John Bruce]].	2 November 1868	29 September 1869
8	[[Image:Frederick Weld.jpg	80px]]	Sir Frederick Weld	30 September 1869	10 January 1875
9	[[Image:Williamrobinson.jpg	80px]]	Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson	11 January 1875	11 November 1877
10	[[Image:HarryStGeorgeOrd-1877-1880.jpg	80px]]	date=March 2025}}	12 November 1877	9 April 1880
-	[[Image:Williamrobinson.jpg	80px]]	Sir William Robinson (2nd time)	10 April 1880	1 June 1883
11	[[Image:Frederick Broome.jpg	80px]]	Sir Frederick Broome	2 June 1883	19 October 1890
-	[[Image:Williamrobinson.jpg	80px]]	Sir William Robinson (3rd time)	20 October 1890	22 December 1895
12	[[Image:Gerard Smith Governor of WA.jpg	80px]]	Lieutenant Colonel Sir Gerard Smith	23 December 1895	30 April 1901
13	[[Image:Arthur Lawley, 6th Baron Wenlock.png	80px]]	Sir Arthur Lawley	1 May 1901	23 March 1903
14	[[Image:Frederick Bedford Vanity Fair 3 December 1903.jpg	80px]]	Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford	24 March 1903	30 May 1909
15	[[Image:Gerald Strickland 1930s.jpg	80px]]	Sir Gerald Strickland	31 May 1909	16 March 1913
16	[[Image:HarryBarron.jpg	80px]]	Major General Sir Harry Barron	17 March 1913	8 April 1917
17	[[Image:WGEllison-Macartney.jpg	80px]]	Sir William Ellison-Macartney	9 April 1917	8 April 1920
18	[[Image:Francis Newdegate.jpg	80px]]	Sir Francis Newdegate	9 April 1920	27 October 1924
19	[[Image:William Campion.jpg	80px]]	Colonel Sir William Campion	28 October 1924	8 June 1931
		John Northmore]] was administrator until 29 June 1932. He was Lieutenant-Governor until 10 July 1933, and was succeeded as Lieutenant-Governor by Sir James Mitchell until 4 October 1948. Mitchell was appointed Governor from 5 October 1948.	1931	1948
20	[[Image:Sir James Mitchell.jpg	80px]]	Sir James Mitchell	5 October 1948	30 June 1951
21		General Sir Charles Gairdner	6 November 1951	25 October 1963
22		Major General Sir Douglas Kendrew	25 October 1963	6 January 1974
23	[[Image:HughieEdwards.jpg	80px]]	Air Commodore Sir Hughie Edwards	7 January 1974	2 April 1975
24		Air Chief Marshal Sir Wallace Kyle	24 November 1975	24 November 1980
25	[[Image:Richardtrowbridge.jpg	80px]]	Rear Admiral Sir Richard Trowbridge	25 November 1980	24 November 1983
26		Gordon Reid	2 July 1984	30 September 1989
27		Sir Francis Burt	20 March 1990	31 October 1993
28	[[Image:Jeffery Michael 030238DI-002.jpg	80px]]	Major General Michael Jeffery	1 November 1993	17 August 2000
29		Lieutenant General John Sanderson	18 August 2000	31 October 2005
30	[[Image:Ken Michael.jpg	80px]]	Ken Michael	18 January 2006	2 May 2011
31	[[Image:11 Nov gnangarra-10.jpg	80px]]	Malcolm McCusker	1 July 2011	30 June 2014
32	[[Image:Kerry Sanderson Governor of Western Australia crop.jpg	80px]]	Kerry Sanderson	20 October 2014	1 May 2018
33	[[Image:Kim Beazley crop.jpg	80px]]	Kim Beazley	1 May 2018	30 June 2022
34	[[Image:Chris Dawson 2022.jpg	80px]]	Chris Dawson	15 July 2022	Current

List of lieutenant-governors

The lieutenant-governor serves as deputy to the governor, fulfilling the governor's functions in the governor's absence.

No.	Portrait	Lieutenant-Governor	From	To
1	[[Image:Jamesstirling.jpg	80px]]	Captain Sir James Stirling	30 December 1828	5 February 1832
...
N/A	[[Image:Sir James Mitchell.jpg	80px]]	Sir James Mitchell	1933	1948
...
N/A		Peter Quinlan	27 November 2019	Current

Notes

References

(13 May 2003). "Rear Admiral Sir Richard John Trowbridge Condolence Motion".
(1 November 2024). "Commission to Administer the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - His Excellency the Honourable Christopher Dawson AC APM". [[Office of Parliamentary Counsel (Australia).
(2012). "House of Representatives Practice". Department of the House of Representatives, Commonwealth of Australia.
[https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/gazette/gazette.nsf/searchgazette/A654B4CDC3A231F748257D340007A941/$file/gg126.pdf Western Australian Government Gazette], 15 August 2014, No. 126, p. 2951. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
Bathurst. (23 July 2008 }} and {{cite web). "Commission appointing Stirling Governor and Commander-in-Chief 4 March 1831 (UK)". National Archives of Australia.
"GOVERNORS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA".
"Lieutenant Governor".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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