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The main official residence of the Governor-General is Government House, Canberra, commonly known as Yarralumla. There is a second official residence, Admiralty House in Sydney. When the Governor-General visits the other states, he is usually a guest at the Government Houses in the state capitals.
The office of Governor-General was created when the Australian Constitution entered into force on January 1, 1901. The Governor-General was originally intended to be the personal representative of the Sovereign, and was envisaged as one of the great offices of the British Empire, on par with the Viceroy of India. But the office never attracted candidates of the seniority originally envisaged, and Australian public opinion never accepted the idea of the Governor-General as an imperial pro-consul. Governors-General who were seen as "too grand" soon became unpopular.
The first Governor-General, the Earl of Hopetoun, was British, as were all his successors until 19311931 is the common year starting on Thursday. see link for calendar) Events January January 4 Female aviator Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa January 6 Thomas Edison submits his last patent application. January 22 Sir Isaac Isaacs sworn in as the. An Australian did not become Governor-General until the appointment of Sir Isaac IsaacsSir Isaac Alfred Isaacs ( 6 August 1855 12 February, 1948) Australian judge and politician, was the ninth Governor-General of Australia, the first Jew, and the first Australian to occupy that post. Isaacs was born in Melbourne, the son of a Jewish tailor. The appointment of a non-Briton was denounced by the major conservative party of the time, the Nationalist Party of AustraliaThe Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party formed in 1917 from a merger of pro-conscription members of the Labor Party (who had been operating under the banner 'National Labor' after their earlier split with the Labor party) with as being "practically republican". Between 19311931 is the common year starting on Thursday. see link for calendar) Events January January 4 Female aviator Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa January 6 Thomas Edison submits his last patent application. January 22 Sir Isaac Isaacs sworn in as the and 19651965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). Events January-February January 4 United States President Lyndon Johnson proclaims his " Great Society" during his State of the Union address. January 14 Prime Ministers of N the issue of Australians as Governor-General was a party political one: although the CurtinJohn Curtin ( January 8 1885 July 5 1945), Australian politician and 14th Prime Minister of Australia, led Australia through the darkest period of its history: when the Australian mainland came under direct military threat during the Japanese advance in W government appointed the Duke of GloucesterPrince Henry, Duke of Gloucester Henry William Frederick Albert Windsor ( March 31 1900 June 10 1974), was the third son of King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary, the brother of Kings Edward VIII (later Duke of Windsor) and George VI, and the in 1945Events January January 5 The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland. January 7 British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference in which he claims credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge. January 12 World War II:), LaborThe Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australia's oldest political party. It is so-named because of its origins in and close links to the trade union movement. While Australians normally spell Labour with an "-our" ending, in the name of the party it is sp governments generally appointed Australians, and conservative governments appointed British Governors-General.
Since 1965, when the Menzies government appointed Lord Casey, the office has been held only by Australians; a non-Australian appointment, although technically still possible, would now be unthinkable in practical terms. Suggestions that the Prince of Wales become the Governor-General have come to nothing, and this possibility seems increasingly remote. Since 1965 nine Australians have been appointed. Of these, three have been former politicians (Casey, Hasluck and Hayden); three have been judges ( Kerr, Stephen and Deane); one has been an academic ( Cowen); one a clergyman ( Hollingworth); and one a professional soldier ( Jeffery). In contrast to the Governors-General of Canada and New Zealand, there has not so far been been a female Governor-General, nor an Aboriginal, nor a citizen of any ethnic minority (unless one counts the two Jewish Governors-General, Isaacs and Cowen).
Most of the British Governors-General were peers: of the two who were not, Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson was a knight and Field Marshal Sir William Slim, was both a knight and a serving Field-Marshal. Of the Australian occupants, Casey was a peer and all the others were knights until the appointment of Hayden in 1988. All Governors-General down to Stephen were members of the Privy Council and thus had the additional title " Right Honourable." Australian appointments to the Privy Council ceased in practice in 1983 and in law in 1986.
Bill Hayden is thus the only Governor-General to have had no title at all. (Hayden even initially refused any honour in the Order of Australia, but was ultimately prevailed upon to accept a Companionship of the order (AC), as the Governor-General is the Chancellor of the order.) Shortly before assuming office as Governor-General, Hollingworth was awarded a Lambeth doctorate by the Archbishop of Canterbury; there was some discussion in the press about whether this was a substantive degree or merely honorary, and whether the reason for its granting was to provide Hollingworth with a title and to downplay his episcopal status.