Saturday, 15 February 2025
Government House
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

Thank you, Uncle Allen^[1] for your warm Welcome to Country.

As you know, you are part of the heart and soul of Government House Sydney, and I thank you for your generosity of spirit and acknowledge the traditional ownership of your peoples of these lands, the Gadigal, and pay my respects to the Elders.

I often speak of the evolutionary development of our country, from an ancient land through to the modern world in which we live. Today’s celebration commemorates an important part of that evolution, the creation of the Australian Honours system^[2].

50 years ago, on 14 February 1975, her Majesty, the late Queen Elizabeth signed Letters Patent establishing the Order of Australia, creating, and I quote, “a society of honour for […] according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service.”^[3]

On the same day, Letters Patent were also signed instituting the Australian Bravery Decorations^[4] as well as the National Medal, recognizing “long service in certain occupations”.^[5]

In announcing the inauguration of the Honours system^[6], Sir John Kerr—Australia’s Governor-General at the time and thereby the Chancellor and Principal Companion of the new Order^[7]—remarked in words redolent of the evolution of which I have spoken, that it was “a logical development”^[8] from the Royal Style and Titles Act,^[9] whereby, in 1973, the Queen was designated Queen of Australia.^[10]

Neither of these developments, the change of designation of her Majesty to Queen of Australia and establishment of the Order of Australia, were mere perfunctory legislative acts. Each was a formal act of State in respect of which her Majesty’s participation was integral—in the case of her Royal Title, giving personal assent to the legislation during her visit in 1973 to open the Opera House; and in 1975 signing the Letters Patent to establish the Order, countersigned by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

The new honours system called for a uniquely Australian suite of insignia and decorations. The task of designing these was given to Stuart Devlin^[11], the Geelong-born silversmith who had designed Australia’s decimal currency.^[12] He based the design for the Order of Australia insignia, for instance, on our wattle blossom, which had been part of the Australian coat of arms since 1912.^[13]

The first appointees to the Order^[14], including Dame Joan Sutherland, Professor Manning Clark and Dr Herbert Cole ‘Nugget’ Coombs, were announced as part of the 1975 Queen’s Birthday Honours list,^[15] but were not presented with their insignia until 1977. However, it was worth the wait … the first investiture ceremony for Australian Honours was presided over by her Majesty at Government House, Canberra,^[16] as she had specifically requested,^[17] during her Silver Jubilee Tour,

Following that first investiture, the Governor-General Sir John Kerr undertook a tour of Australia—“taking the show on the road”^[18] in the words of Sir David Smith, the Order of Australia’s first Secretary—and held Investiture ceremonies in all six State Government Houses and Government House Darwin^[19] for those announced in the Australia Day and Queen’s Birthday Honours Lists of 1976 and 1977.^[20]

In 1978, Governor-General Sir Zelman Cowen, asked State Governors and Territory Administrators to include Order of Australia and Bravery Decoration recipients at their traditional half-yearly Imperial Honours investitures.^[21]

As with any evolutionary process, change is not all smooth sailing and so it was with the Australian Honours System. As I have intimated, the Imperial Honours system continued to be open to Australians, although there was a political divide as to its continued relevance.

Her Majesty, always the observant ‘servant of the people,’ let it be known in 1990 that perhaps the time had come for the Australian Honours system to be the primary^[22] source of recognition for its citizens.^[23]

Prime Minister Paul Keating paid due regard to her Majesty’s inclination, and announced in 1992 that, going forward, Prime Ministers and Premiers would no longer nominate Australians for Imperial Honours.^[24]

Other decorations and awards have been added to our honours system over the years, including for Gallantry,^[25] Distinguished,^[26] and Conspicuous Service^[27] in our military, and Meritorious^[28] awards for contributions through the uniformed and non-uniformed civilian services.

So it is today that as Australians we celebrate those who have contributed so uniquely and generously to Australia and beyond.

As Governor, I have had the enormous privilege of conducting more than 150^[29] investiture ceremonies. Each ceremony is both inspiring and humbling, as we have honoured those who

• have given service to the community through volunteering or keeping us safe and protected;
• have advanced science, medical research and technology,
• have instigated positive change;
• have powered our economies and provided others with opportunities;
• have achieved in their professional disciplines whether in the arts, education, sports, law, agronomy, conservation, diplomacy, politics and more… in ways which inspire, lead, and support others.

In celebrating this important anniversary of the founding the Australian Honours system, most importantly we celebrate you, who represent all the individuals from all backgrounds and fields of endeavour who have been honoured by our nation.

Your story, your contribution, your example is essential to the great and growing story of Australia.

And for that, I offer the deepest and most heartfelt of thanks.

[1] Uncle Allen Madden will perform a Welcome to Country to begin proceedings.

[2] The three Letters Patent, along with their Schedules, were gazetted three days later: Australian Government Gazette 17 February 1975 no S 28, available here

[3] Letters Patent 14 February 1975, reproduced in Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, Order of Australia, 16^th Edition, 2023, available here, p.9.

[4] Letters Patent 14 February 1975, reproduced in Office of the Secretary to the Governor-General, Australian Bravery Decorations, 8^th Edition, 2023, available here, p.17

[5] Letters Patent 14 February 1975, in Australian Government Gazette 17 February 1975 no S 28, available here, p.4

[6] On the same day the three Letters Patent, along with their Schedules, were gazetted: Australian Government Gazette 17 February 1975 no S 28, available here

[7] As laid out in the Schedule attached to the 1975 Letters Patent; as such, upon the signing of the Letters Patent on 14 February 1975, Sir John Kerr became the first person appointed to the Order of Australia.

[8] ‘New System of Federal Honours’, Canberra Times, 18 February 1975, p.1, available here

[9] Royal Style and Titles Act 1973 No. 114, available here

[10] Changing, in terms of the Sovereign’s official title in respect to Australia, ‘Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Australia and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith’, as given in the Royal Style and Titles Act 1953 (Cth) (available here), to ‘Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth’.

[11] Sir David Smith, ‘The Australian Honours System: In the Beginning’, Proceedings of the Samuel Griffith Society, vol. 26, 2014, available here, pp.74-75.

[12] In addition to designing the Australian decimal currency, Devlin designed coins for 30 countries; he was appointed Goldsmith and Jeweller to the Queen in 1982; he also designed the medals and coins for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games: ‘Stuart Devlin AO’, Royal Australian Mint website, available here

[13] ‘Defining Symbols of Australia: Wattle’, National Museum of Australia website, available here. The designs, including for Bravery Decorations, the National Medal, insignia for the Order of Australia, as well as the newly instituted Medal of the Order of Australia, were approved by the Queen in 1976: Australian Government Gazette 2 June 1976 no S 92, available here.

[14] In 1975, grades of the Order consisted only of appointments as Companion (AC), Officer (AO), and Member (AM). It would not be until the Letters Patent of 24 May 1976 that the awarding of Medals in the Order (OAM), as well as the appointment of Knights/Dames (AK/AD), would be added: Australian Government Gazette 2 June 1976 no S 92, available here. Knights/Dames were removed in 1986, and reintroduced in the years 2014-2015: Australian Government Gazette 11 March 1986 no S101, available here; Australian Government Gazette 17 April 2014 C2014G00635, available here; Australian Government Gazette 22 December 2015 C2015G02163, available here

[15] 110 appointments were announced, including 8 as Companions (AC), 13 as Officers (AO), and 89 as Members (AM): ‘First List of Australian Order’, Canberra Times, 14 June 1975, p.9, available here. The poet Judith Wright, the journalist Tom Fitzgerald, the painter Sidney Nolan, and the Chair of the CSIRO had been sounded as appointees as Officers (AO), but had refused; H.C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs and author Patrick White, who had been appointed Companions (AC), and educator Jean Blackburn and Brotherhood of St Laurence director David Scott, who had been appointed Officers (AO) in the original announcement, later resigned their appointments protesting the addition of Knights/Dames in 1976: Fox, Honouring a Nation, op. cit., pp.181, 196

[16] The Investiture ceremony took place on the Wednesday 9 March 1977, the third morning of the Royal Visit and the day after opening the 30^th Parliament; the ceremony took over an hour: The Royal Visit of Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, 7 March to 30 March 1977, available here, pp.14-15.

[17] Sir David Smith, ‘The Australian Honours System’, op. cit., p.77.

[18] ibid.

[19] As well as Katherine and Alice Springs: ibid., p.78

[20] ibid., pp.77-78

[21] According to the Investiture Ordinance S 2-3, residents of Canberra and surrounds are invested at Government House, Canberra; appointees as Companion are likewise “usually” invested in Canberra: Order of Australia, 2023, op. cit., p.65.

[22] Changed at the suggestion of the OS, to incorporate the appointments of Australians to Royal Orders under the Sovereign’s personal largesse.

[23] Sir David Smith, ‘The Australian Honours System’, op. cit., pp.77-78.

[24] Fox, Honouring a Nation, op. cit., pp.221-222.

[25] The Victoria Cross for Australia (VC) was instituted by Letters Patent 15 January 1991; the Star of Gallantry (SG), the Medal for Gallantry (MG), and the Commendation for Gallantry were instituted by Letters Patent 15 January 1991; the Unit Citation for Gallantry and the Meritorious Unit Citation were instituted by Letters Patent 15 January 1991: Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, Gallantry Decorations, 5^th Edition, 2023, pp.17, 25, 41, available here

[26] The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM), and the Commendation for Distinguished Service were instituted by Letters Patent 15 January 1991: Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, Distinguished Service Decorations, 4^th Edition, 2023, p.17, available here

[27] The Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) and Conspicuous Service Medal (CSM) were instituted by Letters Patent 18 October 1989; the Nursing Service Cross (NSC) was instituted by Letters Patent 18 October 1989: Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, Conspicuous Service Decorations, 4^th Edition, 2023, pp.17, 29, available here

[28] Public Service Medal (PSM) was instituted by Letters Patent 18 October 1989; the Australian Police Medal (APM) was instituted by Letters Patent 3 March 1986; the Australian Fire Service Medal (ASFM) was instituted by Letters Patent 12 April 1988; the Ambulance Service Medal (ASM) was instituted by Letters Patent 7 July 1999; the Emergency Services Medal (ESM) was instituted by Letters Patent 7 July 1999; the Australian Corrections Medal (ACM) was instituted by Letters Patent 19 June 2021; the Australian Intelligence Medal (AIM) was instituted by Letters Patent 24 January 2020; and the Australian Antarctic Medal (AAM) was instituted by Letters Patent 2 June 1987: Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, Meritorious Awards, 5^th Edition, 2023, pp.23, 41, 55, 73, 89, 105, 121, available here

[29] 12 ‘seasons’ totalling 152 ceremonies. Three of these ‘seasons’, due to COVID restrictions, had less recipients per ceremony, and hence more ceremonies than usual.