Alexandra Hasluck
Encyclopedia
Dame Alexandra Hasluck, AD
, alternatively named Lady Hasluck (26 August 1908 – 18 June 1993), was an author
and social historian
in Western Australia
. She was the wife
of Sir Paul Hasluck
, Governor-General of Australia
1969-74.
in 1908, she graduated from the University of Western Australia
.
In 1932 she married Paul Hasluck
, who (as Sir Paul) was Governor-General of Australia
1969-1974. In 1974, he was offered an extension of his term by the Prime Minister
, Gough Whitlam
, and he was willing to serve an extra two years, but Lady Hasluck (as she then was) refused to remain at Yarralumla longer than the originally agreed five years. Whitlam then appointed Sir John Kerr. Historians of the period are certain that if Hasluck had still been Governor-General in 1975, as he would have been had his wife not intervened, the constitutional crisis of that year would have ended differently. Hasluck himself inferred this in his book, The Office of Governor-General and also in the Queale Lecture.
On 3 June 1978, Lady Hasluck was appointed the first of only two Dames of the Order of Australia
for "services to Australian letters".
Dame Alexandra Hasluck's published works included talks to the Royal West Australian Historical Society as well as books and articles. One of her achievements was the editing of Audrey Tennyson's Vice-Regal Days, written by Lady (Audrey) Tennyson, wife of Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
, who was Governor-General from 1903 to 1904.
She died in 1993. Dame Alexandra and Sir Paul Hasluck are joint eponyms of the Western Australian Federal House of Representatives
Division of Hasluck
.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, alternatively named Lady Hasluck (26 August 1908 – 18 June 1993), was an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and social historian
Social history
Social history, often called the new social history, is a branch of History that includes history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in history departments...
in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. She was the wife
Spouse of the Governor-General of Australia
The Spouse of the Governor-General of Australia generally assists the office-holder in welcoming ambassadors and their spouses, and in performing their other official duties. The Governor-General's spouse traditionally participates in celebratory occasions, attends functions and, as a patron of...
of Sir Paul Hasluck
Paul Hasluck
Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
, Governor-General of Australia
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
1969-74.
Biography
Born Alexandra Margaret Martin Darker in Perth, Western AustraliaPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
in 1908, she graduated from the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
.
In 1932 she married Paul Hasluck
Paul Hasluck
Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
, who (as Sir Paul) was Governor-General of Australia
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
1969-1974. In 1974, he was offered an extension of his term by the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
, and he was willing to serve an extra two years, but Lady Hasluck (as she then was) refused to remain at Yarralumla longer than the originally agreed five years. Whitlam then appointed Sir John Kerr. Historians of the period are certain that if Hasluck had still been Governor-General in 1975, as he would have been had his wife not intervened, the constitutional crisis of that year would have ended differently. Hasluck himself inferred this in his book, The Office of Governor-General and also in the Queale Lecture.
On 3 June 1978, Lady Hasluck was appointed the first of only two Dames of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
for "services to Australian letters".
Dame Alexandra Hasluck's published works included talks to the Royal West Australian Historical Society as well as books and articles. One of her achievements was the editing of Audrey Tennyson's Vice-Regal Days, written by Lady (Audrey) Tennyson, wife of Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, GCMG, PC , the second Governor-General of Australia, was born at Chapel House, Twickenham, in Surrey, England. Named after his father's late friend Arthur Hallam, he was the elder son of Alfred Tennyson, the most popular and prominent poet of late Victorian...
, who was Governor-General from 1903 to 1904.
She died in 1993. Dame Alexandra and Sir Paul Hasluck are joint eponyms of the Western Australian Federal House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
Division of Hasluck
Division of Hasluck
The Division of Hasluck is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia.The division was created in 2001 and is named for Sir Paul Hasluck, who was Governor-General of Australia 1969-74, and for his wife, Dame Alexandra Hasluck, a prominent author...
.
Publications
- Portrait with Background (1955)
- Unwilling EmigrantsUnwilling EmigrantsUnwilling Emigrants is a book by Alexandra Hasluck. It is both a general study of Western Australia's convict era, and a biography of a particular convict, William Sykes. First published in 1959 by Oxford University Press in Melbourne, it was for many years the only published history of the era...
(1959) - Audrey Tennyson's Vice-Regal Days (1978)
- Portrait in a Mirror (1981).
Further reading
- Alexandra Hasluck - brief obituary Early Days, Vol. 10, no. 5 (1993)