List of Knights and Dames of the Order of Australia

This is a list of knights and dames of the Order of Australia.

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

History

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 recognize Australian citizens and other persons for achievement, meritorious service, or for both.

Recipients who are not Australian citizens may be appointed honorary knights or dames,[1] although no such appointments have been made.

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 Knight and Dame of the Order of Australia superseded Companion of the Order as the highest grade, however Knight and Dame were only awarded in the General Division of the Order. The then Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, reported to Sir Martin Charteris on 13 April 1976 that Malcolm Fraser wanted the level of knighthood to be "an extremely rare award" that would recognise "extraordinary and pre-eminent achievement and merit" and that no more than two would be made in any year. Sir Garfield Barwick, the then Chairman of the Order of Australia Council, described such people as "super-knights" and Kerr thought the prospect of finding two each year "very slim".[2]

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.[3] 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 recommended 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,[4] 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.[5] 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.

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.[6][7] The Queen amended the Constitution of the Order by Letters Patent signed on 29 October, and the amendment was gazetted on 22 December 2015.[8]

Knights and Dames of the Order of Australia
Name Notability Born Awarded[note 1] Died Notes
KNIGHTS
Sir John Kerr AK, GCMG, GCVOGovernor-General (1974–77); previously a Companion of the Order24 Sep 191424 May 1976 O24 Mar 1991[note 2][9]
Sir Robert Menzies KT, AK, CH, QC Prime Minister (1939–41, 1949–66) 20 Dec 1894 7 Jun 1976 Q 15 May 1978 [10]
Sir Colin Syme AK[note 3] Industrialist 22 Apr 1903 6 Jun 1977 Q 19 Jan 1986 [11]
Sir Zelman Cowen AK, GCMG, GCVO, QC, PC Governor-General (1977–82) 7 Oct 1919 8 Dec 1977 O 8 Dec 2011 [12]
Sir Macfarlane Burnet OM, AK, KBE Virologist, Nobel Prize laureate 3 Sep 1899 26 Jan 1978 A 31 Aug 1985 [13]
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, PC Heir apparent to the Australian throne 14 Nov 1948 14 Mar 1981 living (age 72) [14]
Sir Roden Cutler VC, AK, KCMG, KCVO, CBE Decorated soldier, diplomat, and longest-serving Governor of New South Wales (1966–81) 24 May 1916 7 Apr 1981 22 Feb 2002 [15]
Sir Garfield Barwick AK, GCMG, QC Attorney-General of Australia (1958–64); Minister for External Affairs (1961–64); Chief Justice of Australia (1964–81) 22 Jun 1903 8 Jun 1981 Q 14 Jul 1997 [16]
Sir Charles Court AK, KCMG, OBE Premier of Western Australia (1974–82) 29 Sep 1911 14 Jun 1982 Q 22 Dec 2007 [17]
Sir Ninian Stephen KG, AK, GCMG, GCVO, KBE, PC, QC High Court Judge (1972–82), Governor-General (1982–89) 15 Jun 1923 29 Jul 1982 O 29 Oct 2017 [18]
Sir Roy Wright AK Physiologist 7 Aug 1907 26 Jan 1983 A 28 Feb 1990 [19]
Sir Gordon Jackson AK Industrialist; previously a Companion of the Order 5 May 1924 13 Jun 1983 Q 1 Jun 1991 [20]
General Sir Peter Cosgrove AK, CVO, MC Chief of the Defence Force (2002–05), Governor-General (2014–19), also a Companion of the Order (Military Division) 28 Jul 1947 28 Mar 2014 O living (age 73) [note 4]
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh KG, KT, OM, AK, GCVO, GBE, ONZ, GCL, QSO, CC, CMM, CD, PC Prince consort to the Queen of Australia, also a Companion of the Order (Military Division) 10 Jun 1921 7 Jan 2015 A living (age 99) [note 5]
Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston AK, AFC Chief of the Defence Force (2005–11), also a Companion of the Order (Military Division) 9 Jun 1947 26 Jan 2015 A living (age 73) [21]
DAMES
Dame Alexandra Hasluck AD Author, historian and vice-regal consort 26 Aug 1908 6 Jun 1978 Q 18 Jun 1993 [22]
Dame Enid Lyons AD, GBE First woman elected to the House of Representatives; first woman appointed to the federal Cabinet 9 Jul 1897 26 Jan 1980 A 2 Sep 1981 [23]
Dame Quentin Bryce AD, CVO Governor of Queensland (2003–08), Governor-General (2008–14); previously a Companion of the Order 23 Dec 1942 25 Mar 2014 O living (age 78) [note 6]
Dame Marie Bashir AD, CVO Governor of New South Wales (2001–14); previously a Companion of the Order 1 Dec 1930 9 Jun 2014 Q living (age 90) [24]

See also

Notes
  1. 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).
  2. 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.
  3. Colin Syme had previously been knighted as a Knight Bachelor, which carries no postnominal.
  4. Gen. Cosgrove was previously a Companion of the Order in the Military Division prior to his appointment as Governor-General.
  5. Prince Philip was previously a Companion of the Order in the Military Division prior to his appointment. Like his son Prince Charles, Letters Patent amending the Constitution of the Order of Australia were required for him to become a substantive knight.
  6. 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.

References
  1. "Order of Australia" (PDF). Ninth Edition, 2009. Issued by the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, Government House, Canberra.
  2. "Palace Letters" (PDF). The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  3. Amendments to the Constitution of the Order of Australia to make The Prince of Wales a Knight of the Order, 14 March 1981 - refer Letters Patent dated 7 January 2015.
  4. Amendments to the Constitution of the Order of Australia to reinstate appointments of Knights and Dames, 19 March 2014, comlaw.gov.au. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  5. Amendments to the Constitution of the Order of Australia to make Prince Philip a Knight of the Order, 7 January 2015, comlaw.gov.au. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  6. "Malcolm Turnbull scraps Tony Abbott's Knights and Dames". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  7. "Knights and dames removed from Order of Australia by Malcolm Turnbull". The Guardian. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  8. Australian Government, Federal Register of Legislation. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  9. John Kerr
  10. Robert Menzies
  11. Colin Syme
  12. Zelman Cowen
  13. Macfarlane Burnet
  14. Prince Charles
  15. Roden Cutler
  16. Garfield Barwick
  17. Charles Court
  18. Ninian Stephen
  19. Roy Wright
  20. Gordon Jackson
  21. Angus Houston
  22. Alexandra Hasluck
  23. Enid Lyons
  24. "Chris Devine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-06-30. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
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