Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria

Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria
Badge of the Governor of Victoria
Incumbent
James Angus AO
since 12 November 2021
Office of the Governor,
Government of Victoria
StyleThe Honourable
NominatorPremier of Victoria
AppointerAustralian monarch
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
WebsiteGovernor of Victoria

The Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria is a government position in the state of Victoria, Australia, acting as a deputy to the Governor of Victoria. When the governor is out of the state, the lieutenant-governor acts as the governor. This office has often been held concurrently by the Chief Justice of Victoria.

History

Prior to the separation of the colony of Victoria from New South Wales in 1851, the area was called the Port Phillip District of New South Wales. The Governor of New South Wales appointed superintendents of the District. In 1839, Captain Charles La Trobe was appointed superintendent. La Trobe became Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria on Victoria's separation from New South Wales on 1 July 1851. On Victoria obtaining responsible government in May 1855, the title of the then incumbent lieutenant-governor, Captain Sir Charles Hotham, became the Governor of Victoria.[1]

When Victoria became a state, the letters patent provided for a lieutenant-governor, but the office was not filled. Instead, following the practice in New South Wales, the Chief Justice of Victoria acted as the governor when required. This changed on 6 November 1886, when Sir William Stawell, the outgoing Chief Justice, was appointed lieutenant governor. The conferring of honors on retiring dignitaries was a common practice in the UK at the time.[2] After his death in 1889, the position again became vacant until Sir John Madden was appointed lieutenant-governor on 10 June 1899. He had already acted as governor by virtue of being Chief Justice, but in line with Stawell's precedent, his direct appointment as lieutenant-governor superseded the administrative power of the Chief Justice.[3]

List of lieutenant-governors of Victoria

Image Lieutenant-governor From To Notes References
Charles La Trobe 1 July 1851 5 May 1854 [1]
Captain Sir Charles Hotham RN, KCB 22 June 1854 22 May 1855 Governor (May–December 1855) [1]
Sir William Stawell KCMG 6 November 1886 12 March 1889 died [4]
Sir John Madden GCMG 10 June 1899 10 March 1918 Chief Justice (1893–1918); died [3][5]
Sir William Irvine GCMG April 1918 January 1936 Chief Justice (1918–1935); resigned [6][7]
Sir Frederick Mann KCMG March 1936 April 1945 Chief Justice (1935–1943); resigned [7][8][9]
Sir Edmund Herring KCMG, KBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ED, KC May 1945 2 September 1972 Chief Justice (1944–1964); resigned [10][11]
Sir Henry Winneke AC, KCMG, KCVO, OBE, QC 31 October 1972 3 June 1974 Chief Justice (1964–1974); Governor (1974–1982) [1][12]
Sir John Young AC, KCMG 21 July 1974 1995 Chief Justice (1974–1991) [13]
Sir James Gobbo AC, CVO, QC October 1995 24 April 1997 Governor (1997–2000) [1][14]
Adrienne Clarke AC, FAA, FTSE May 1997 2000 [15]
Lady (Marigold) Southey AC 1 January 2001 4 April 2006 [16]
Marilyn Warren AC 4 April 2006 9 November 2017 Chief Justice (2003–2017) [17]
Ken Lay AO, APM 9 November 2017 12 November 2021 [18]
James Angus AO 12 November 2021 [19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Governors of Victoria". Governor of Victoria. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  2. ^ "The Lieutenant-Governor". The Australasian. Vol. XLI, no. 1075. Victoria, Australia. 6 November 1886. p. 25. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ a b "Sir John Madden as Lieutenant-Governor". Leader. No. 2266. Victoria, Australia. 10 June 1899. p. 24. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Governors of Victoria". The Australasian. Vol. LX, no. 1555. Victoria, Australia. 18 January 1896. p. 25. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Sir John Madden Dies". The Horsham Times. No. 5934. Victoria, Australia. 12 March 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Sir William Irvine Appointed Lieutenant-Governor". The Age. No. 19, 682. Victoria, Australia. 24 April 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ a b "New Lieutenant-Governor". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 27, 954. Victoria, Australia. 24 March 1936. p. 9. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Sir Frederick Mann Still Lieutenant-Governor". The Herald. No. 20, 773. Victoria, Australia. 14 December 1943. p. 6. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Lieut.-Governor Resigns". Weekly Times. No. 3955. Victoria, Australia. 4 April 1945. p. 5. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 30, 812. Victoria, Australia. 31 May 1945. p. 3. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Sir Edmund Herring retiring". The Canberra Times. Vol. 46, no. 13, 210. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 August 1972. p. 3. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "In Brief". The Canberra Times. Vol. 47, no. 13, 269. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 November 1972. p. 3. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "In Brief". The Canberra Times. Vol. 48, no. 13, 813. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 22 July 1974. p. 3. Retrieved 26 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Former Governor among Arts Alumni Awardees". Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Laureate Professor Adrienne Clarke AC". CEDA. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  16. ^ "BIO – Lady Southey AM Lieutenant Governor of Victoria". Australian Cancer Research Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Proclamation" (PDF). Victoria Government Gazette (S 108). 7 April 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Commission passed under the Public Seal of the State of Victoria appointing Kenneth Douglas Lay AO APM to be Lieutenant-Governor of the State of Victoria in the Commonwealth of Australia" (PDF). Victoria Government Gazette (S 378). 9 November 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  19. ^ "Commission passed under the Public Seal of the State of Victoria appointing James Alexander Angus AO to be Lieutenant-Governor of the State of Victoria in the Commonwealth of Australia" (PDF). Victoria Government Gazette (S 626). 12 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.