Governor of Tasmania
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox official postTemplate:Politics of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the monarch, currently Template:Current Australian monarch. 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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.<ref name="TasGazette-20141210">Template:Cite journal</ref>
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
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1875–1876
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1876–1977
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1977–present
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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.<ref>Past Governors Template:Webarchive.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=widowson>Widowson, Henry: Present State of Van Diemen's Land, 1829.</ref>
Lieutenant-governors and commandants in the south
| No. | Lieutenant-governor | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | File:David Collins.jpg | 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 | File:Colonel William Paterson.jpg | 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 | File:Thomas Davey.jpg | Colonel Thomas Davey | 4 February 1813 | 9 March 1817 |
| 2 | File:William Sorell.jpg | Colonel William Sorell | 9 March 1817 | 14 May 1824 |
| 3 | File:Major-General Sir George Arthur.jpg | Sir George Arthur | 14 May 1824 | 29 October 1836 |
| 4 | File:John Franklin.jpg | Sir John Franklin | 5 January 1837 | 21 August 1843 |
| 5 | File:John Eardley Wilmot.jpg | Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, 1st Baronet | 21 August 1843 | 13 October 1846 |
| 6 | File:William Denison.jpg | Sir William Denison | 25 January 1847 | 8 January 1855 |
Governor-in-chief
| No. | Governor | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | File:Sir Henry Young.jpg | Sir Henry Young | 8 January 1855 | 10 December 1861 |
Governors
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References
Sources
- Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Tasmania
- Parliamentary Library – Governors of Tasmania Template:Webarchive
Template:Governors of Tasmania Template:Australian governors Template:Representatives of the monarch in Commonwealth realms and Dominions Template:Government of Tasmania