List of Knights and Dames of the Order of Australia

Badge of a Knight and a Dame of the Order of Australia

This is a list of Knights and Dames of the Order of Australia.

The Order of Australia is the only Australian order of chivalry, although certain dynastic British orders of chivalry, such as the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Thistle and the Royal Victorian Order, may still be awarded to Australians by the Monarch of Australia. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam, to recognise Australian citizens and other persons for achievement, meritorious service, or for both. At its establishment, the Order of Australia included three grades: Companion (AC), Officer (AO) and Member (AM), and two Divisions: Civil and Military.

On 24 May 1976, the grades of Knight (AK) and Dame (AD), and the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), were established by the Monarch on the advice of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, and the Civil Division was renamed the General Division. Knight and Dame of the Order of Australia superseded Companion of the Order as the highest grade, however Knight and Dame are only awarded in the General Division of the Order.

Recipients who are not Australian citizens may be appointed Honorary Knights or Dames,[1] although no such appointments have yet been made.

On 14 March 1981 the Queen co-signed Letters Patent amending the Constitution of the Order of Australia to create her son, the Heir to the Australian throne, HRH Charles, Prince of Wales a Knight of the Order of Australia.[2] This procedure was necessary as Prince Charles, not being an Australian citizen, would not otherwise have qualified for a substantive knighthood and would have been eligible only for an honorary award.

Following the 1983 election, Prime Minister Bob Hawke advised the abolition of the Knight and Dame grades. On 3 March 1986, the Monarch co-signed Letters Patent revoking the categories of Knight and Dame – existing Knights and Dames were not affected by this change.

Following his election in 2013, Prime Minister Tony Abbott advised the Queen to reinstate the categories of Dame and Knight. On 19 March 2014, the Queen co-signed Letters Patent to bring this into effect,[3] although no announcement of this change was made until 25 March. At that time it was also announced that the Governor-General would be the Principal Knight or Dame of the Order;[1] the incumbent but outgoing governor-general, Quentin Bryce, was immediately made a Dame of the Order, and the new governor-general, General Peter Cosgrove, became a Knight immediately upon his swearing-in on 28 March.

On 7 January 2015 the Queen co-signed Letters Patent that created her consort HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh a Knight of the Order of Australia, on the same basis as applied to Prince Charles in 1981.[4] This award was publicly announced in the Australia Day Honours list of 26 January 2015, along with the knighthood of Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, former Chief of the Defence Force.

At the time of the reinstatement of the categories of Dame and Knight in 2014, only two of the 14 recipients of the honour were still living — 91-year-old Ninian Stephen and 65-year-old Prince Charles.

On 2 November 2015, Abbott's successor as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that the categories of Knight and Dame in the Order of Australia would again be discontinued, although existing holders of the titles would not be affected.[5][6]The Queen amended the Constitution of the Order by Letters Patent signed on 29 October, and the amendment was gazetted on 22 December 2015.[7]

Knights and Dames of the Order of Australia

Name Born Died Notability Awarded[8] Notes
KNIGHTS
Barwick, Sir GarfieldSir Garfield Barwick AK, GCMG, QC 22 Jun 1903 14 Jul 1997 Attorney-General of Australia (1958–64); Minister for External Affairs (1961–64); Chief Justice of Australia (1964–81) 8 Jun 1981 Q [9]
Burnet, Sir MacFarlaneSir MacFarlane Burnet OM, AK, KBE 3 Sep 189931 Aug 1985 Virologist, Nobel Prize laureate 26 Jan 1978 A [10]
Cosgrove, General Sir PeterGeneral Sir Peter Cosgrove AK, MC 28 Jul 1947 living (age 69) Chief of the Defence Force (2002–05), Governor-General (2014–), also a Companion of the Order (Military Division)28 Mar 2014 O [11]
Court, Sir CharlesSir Charles Court AK, KCMG, OBE 29 Sep 1911 22 Dec 2007 Premier of Western Australia (1974–82) 14 Jun 1982 Q [12]
Cowen, Sir ZelmanSir Zelman Cowen AK, GCMG, GCVO, QC, PC 7 Oct 1919 8 Dec 2011 Governor-General (1977–82) 8 Dec 1977 O [13]
Cutler, Sir RodenSir Roden Cutler VC, AK, KCMG, KCVO, CBE 24 May 191622 Feb 2002 Decorated soldier, diplomat, and longest-serving Governor of New South Wales (1966–81) 7 Apr 1981 [14]
Edinburgh, Prince Philip, Duke ofPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh KG, KT, OM, AK, GBE, ONZ, GCL, QSO, CC, CMM, CD, PC 10 Jun 1921 living (age 95) Prince consort to the Queen of Australia, also a Companion of the Order (Military Division)7 Jan 2015 A [15]
Houston, Air Chief Marshal Sir AngusAir Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston AK, AFC 9 Jun 1947 living (age 69) Chief of the Defence Force (2005–11), also a Companion of the Order (Military Division)26 Jan 2015 A [16]
Jackson, Sir GordonSir Gordon Jackson AK 5 May 1924 1 Jun 1991 Industrialist; previously a Companion of the Order 13 Jun 1983 Q [17]
Kerr, Sir JohnSir John Kerr AK, GCMG, GCVO 24 Sep 1914 24 Mar 1991 Governor-General (1974–77); previously a Companion of the Order 24 May 1976 O [18][19]
Menzies, Sir RobertSir Robert Menzies KT, AK, CH, QC 20 Dec 1894 15 May 1978 Prime Minister (1939–41, 1949–66) 7 Jun 1976 Q [20]
Stephen, Sir NinianSir Ninian Stephen KG, AK, GCMG, GCVO, KBE, PC, QC 15 Jun 1923 living (age 93) High Court Judge (1972–82), Governor-General (1982–89) 29 Jul 1982 O [21]
Syme, Sir ColinSir Colin Syme AK[22]22 Apr 1903 19 Jan 1986 Industrialist 6 Jun 1977 Q [23]
Wales, Prince Charles, Prince ofPrince Charles, Prince of Wales KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, PC 14 Nov 1948 living (age 68) Heir apparent to the Australian throne 14 Mar 1981 [24]
Wright, Sir RoySir Roy Wright AK 7 Aug 1907 28 Feb 1990 Physiologist 26 Jan 1983 A [25]
DAMES
Bashir, Dame MarieDame Marie Bashir AD, CVO 1 Dec 1930 living (age 86) Governor of New South Wales (2001–14); previously a Companion of the Order 9 Jun 2014 Q [26]
Bryce, Dame QuentinDame Quentin Bryce AD, CVO 23 Dec 1942 living (age 73) Governor of Queensland (2003–08), Governor-General (2008–14); previously a Companion of the Order 25 Mar 2014 O [27]
Hasluck, Dame AlexandraDame Alexandra Hasluck AD 26 Aug 1908 18 Jun 1993 Author, historian and vice-regal consort 6 Jun 1978 Q [28]
Lyons, Dame EnidDame Enid Lyons AD, GBE 9 Jul 1897 2 Sep 1981 First woman elected to the House of Representatives; first woman appointed to the federal Cabinet 26 Jan 1980 A [29]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Order of Australia" (PDF). Ninth Edition, 2009. Issued by the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, Government House, Canberra.
  2. ↑ It's an Honour: Prince Charles AK
  3. ↑ ComLaw: Amendments to the Constitution of the Order of Australia to reinstate appointments of Knights and Dames, 19 March 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015
  4. ↑ ComLaw: Amendments to the Constitution of the Order of Australia, 7 January 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015
  5. ↑ "Malcolm Turnbull scraps Tony Abbott's Knights and Dames". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Knights and dames removed from Order of Australia by Malcolm Turnbull". The Guardian. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Australian Government, Federal Register of Legislation. Retrieved 17 June 2016
  8. ↑ Date Awarded
    A = Australia Day List (26 January)
    Q = Queen's Birthday List (Second Monday in June)
    O = On assuming office as Governor-General, (or in the case of John Kerr and Quentin Bryce, on establishment / restoration of the grade of Dame / Knight).
  9. ↑
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ Gen Cosgrove was previously a Companion of the Order in the Military Division prior to his appointment as Governor-General
  12. ↑
  13. ↑
  14. ↑
  15. ↑
  16. ↑
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ Sir John Kerr was the Governor-General and Principal Companion of the Order when the grade of Dame / Knight was established; his knighthood took effect immediately
  19. ↑
  20. ↑
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ Colin Syme had previously been knighted as a Knight Bachelor, which carries no postnominal.
  23. ↑
  24. ↑
  25. ↑
  26. ↑
  27. ↑ Quentin Bryce was the Governor-General and Principal Companion of the Order when the grade of Dame / Knight was re-established; her knighthood took effect immediately
  28. ↑
  29. ↑
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