The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the monarch, currently King Charles III. 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.
| Governor of Tasmania | |
|---|---|
Flag of the Governor | |
Incumbent since 16 June 2021Barbara Baker | |
| Viceregal | |
| Style | Her Excellency The Honourable |
| Residence | Government House, Hobart |
| Appointer | Monarch on the advice of the premier |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure (typically 5 years) |
| Formation | 8 January 1855 |
| First holder | Sir Henry Fox Young |
| Website | govhouse |
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
- 1875–1876
- 1876–1977
- 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 | 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 | Sir George Arthur | 14 May 1824 | 29 October 1836 | |
| 4 | Sir John Franklin | 5 January 1837 | 21 August 1843 | |
| 5 | Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, 1st Baronet | 21 August 1843 | 13 October 1846 | |
| 6 | Sir William Denison | 25 January 1847 | 8 January 1855 | |
Governor-in-chief
| No. | Governor | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Henry Young | 8 January 1855 | 10 December 1861 | |
Governors
| No. | Governor | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colonel Sir Thomas Browne | 11 December 1862 | 30 December 1868 | |
| 2 | Sir Charles Du Cane | 15 January 1869 | 30 November 1874 | |
| 3 | Sir Frederick Weld | 13 January 1875 | 5 April 1880 | |
| 4 | Sir John Henry Lefroy | 1880 | 1881 | |
| 5 | Major Sir George Strahan | 7 December 1881 | 28 October 1886 | |
| 6 | Sir Robert Hamilton | 11 March 1887 | 30 November 1892 | |
| 7 | Jenico Preston, 14th Viscount Gormanston | 8 August 1893 | 14 August 1900 | |
| 8 | Captain Sir Arthur Havelock | 8 November 1901 | 16 April 1904 | |
| 9 | Sir Gerald Strickland | 28 October 1904 | 20 May 1909 | |
| 10 | Major-General Sir Harry Barron | 16 September 1909 | 3 March 1913 | |
| 11 | Sir William Ellison-Macartney | 4 June 1913 | 31 March 1917 | |
| 12 | Sir Francis Newdegate | 30 March 1917 | 22 February 1920 | |
| 13 | Sir William Allardyce | 16 April 1920 | 27 January 1922 | |
| 14 | Sir James O'Grady | 23 December 1924 | 23 December 1930 | |
| 15 | Sir Ernest Clark | 4 August 1933 | 4 August 1945 | |
| 16 | Admiral Sir Hugh Binney | 24 December 1945 | 8 May 1951 | |
| 17 | Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet | 22 August 1951 | 4 June 1958 | |
| 18 | Thomas Corbett, 2nd Baron Rowallan | 21 October 1959 | 25 March 1963 | |
| 19 | Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Gairdner | 24 September 1963 | 11 July 1968 | |
| 20 | Lieutenant-General Sir Edric Bastyan | 2 December 1968 | 1 December 1973 | |
| 21 | Sir Stanley Burbury | 5 December 1973 | 1 October 1982 | |
| 22 | Sir James Plimsoll | 1 October 1982 | 8 May 1987 | |
| 23 | General Sir Phillip Bennett | 19 October 1987 | 2 October 1995 | |
| 24 | Sir Guy Green | 2 October 1995 | 3 October 2003 | |
| 25 | Richard Butler | 3 October 2003 | 9 August 2004 | |
| 26 | William Cox | 15 December 2004 | 2 April 2008 | |
| 27 | Peter Underwood | 2 April 2008 | 7 July 2014 | |
| 28 | Professor Kate Warner | 10 December 2014 | 9 June 2021 | |
| 29 | Barbara Baker | 16 June 2021 | present | |
Sources
- Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Tasmania
- Parliamentary Library – Governors of Tasmania Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
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