Australian peers
Encyclopedia
Australians were originally eligible to receive British Imperial
Honours. Such honours included peerages, which at that time were all hereditary
and automatically meant membership of the House of Lords
- neither of these is necessarily the case any more.
Peerage titles awarded to Australians included some distinctly Australian titles, such as Viscount Bruce of Melbourne
. Imperial Honours were recommended to the Sovereign by the Prime Minister of Australia
, an Australian State Premier
, or sometimes by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
.
This practice generally came to a halt in 1975 when Queen Elizabeth II, on the advice of the Prime Minister Gough Whitlam
, instituted an entirely Australian Honours System, although individual states such as Queensland
continued to recommend Imperial Honours for some time.
was a British military commander prominent at Gallipoli
. After retirement from the army in 1930, Birdwood made a bid to become Governor-General of Australia
. He had the backing of King George V
. However, the Australian Prime Minister James Scullin
insisted that his Australian nominee Sir Isaac Isaacs
be appointed. The King ultimately felt bound to accept the advice of the Prime Minister, but he did not disguise his reluctance and displeasure. In 1938 Birdwood was raised to the peerage, taking the title Baron Birdwood, of Anzac and of Totnes in the County of Devon
. He died in 1951. As of 2007 the barony is held by his grandson, the 3rd Baron Birdwood. Sir Isaac Isaacs himself was nominated for a peerage, but this was refused.
(1877–1951) was a British administrator. He served as Governor of South Australia from 1934 to 1939 then Governor of Victoria until 1949. He was also the Administrator of the Commonwealth
on two occasions. He was created Baron Dugan of Victoria, of Lurgan in the County of Armagh
, on 7 July 1949. The title became extinct upon his death.
Sir William Slim
(1891-1970) was a British military commander who had fought alongside Australians in both world wars, at Gallipoli, the Middle East and other places. He was Governor-General of Australia
from 1952 to 1960, when he returned to England. On the initiative of the then Prime Minister Robert Menzies
, Sir William and Lady Slim received Australian pensions and passports. In 1960 Slim was raised to the peerage, taking the title Viscount Slim
, of Yarralumla in the Capital Territory of Australia and of Bishopston in the City and County of Bristol
. He was succeeded upon his death by his son John
. The current heir apparent
is his grandson Mark William Rawdon Slim.
Another Governor-General, Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson, was raised to the peerage as 1st Viscount Novar after leaving the office. However, his peerage title contained no reference to any Australian place.
.
In some cases there was a very strong expectation of being nominated for a peerage that failed to materialise, such as Sir Henry Bolte
.
In some cases, the nominee died before the peerage was granted, such as Daniel Patrick O'Connell.
The baronetcy
is extant. Application has been made by the prospective 4th baronet, Rupert Grant Alexander Clarke
The baronetcy
is extant. Currently held by Sir William Cooper, 6th Bt.
, 1st Bt. (1859, Colony of New South Wales)
The baronetcy
is extinct.
, 1st Bt. (1899, Colony of South Australia)
The baronetcy is extinct.
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
Honours. Such honours included peerages, which at that time were all hereditary
Hereditary peer
Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...
and automatically meant membership of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
- neither of these is necessarily the case any more.
Peerage titles awarded to Australians included some distinctly Australian titles, such as Viscount Bruce of Melbourne
Stanley Bruce
Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC , was an Australian politician and diplomat, and the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the second Australian granted an hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, but the first whose peerage was formally created...
. Imperial Honours were recommended to the Sovereign by the Prime Minister of Australia
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...
, an Australian State Premier
Premiers of the Australian states
The Premiers of the Australian states are the de facto heads of the executive governments in the six states of the Commonwealth of Australia. They perform the same function at the state level as the Prime Minister of Australia performs at the national level. The territory equivalents to the...
, or sometimes by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
.
This practice generally came to a halt in 1975 when Queen Elizabeth II, on the advice of the Prime Minister 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...
, instituted an entirely Australian Honours System, although individual states such as Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
continued to recommend Imperial Honours for some time.
Australians with hereditary peerages
- Stanley BruceStanley BruceStanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC , was an Australian politician and diplomat, and the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the second Australian granted an hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, but the first whose peerage was formally created...
was the first (and possibly the only) Australian elevated to an hereditary peerage. He became Prime MinisterPrime Minister of AustraliaThe 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...
in 1923, holding the office for six and a half years until he lost not only the 1929 electionAustralian federal election, 1929Federal elections were held in Australia on 12 October 1929. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, with no Senate seats up for election, as a result of Billy Hughes and other rebel backbenchers crossing the floor over industrial relations legislation, depriving the...
but also his own seat of FlindersDivision of FlindersThe Division of Flinders is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election...
. He later became High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and served there for thirteen years. In 1947 he became Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, of Westminster Gardens in the City of WestminsterCity of WestminsterThe City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
. He was childless, and the viscountcy became extinct at his death.
- Sir Clive Baillieu was born in Australia and educated at Melbourne Grammar SchoolMelbourne Grammar SchoolMelbourne Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, located in South Yarra and Caulfield, suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
and the University of MelbourneUniversity of MelbourneThe University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, before moving to the UK, where he continued his studies at Magdalen College, OxfordMagdalen College, OxfordMagdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
. He was granted an hereditary peerage in 1953, as Baron Baillieu, of SeftonSefton, New South WalesSefton, a suburb of local government area City of Bankstown, is located 23 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the Western Sydney region....
in the Commonwealth of Australia and of Parkwood in the County of SurreySurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. It is unclear whether he was still considered an Australian at the time his peerage was announced. He died in Melbourne in 1967 and was succeeded by his son William as 2nd Baron Baillieu.
- Michael Abney-HastingsMichael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of LoudounMichael Edward Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun is a British Australian, who is most noted due to the documentary Britain's Real Monarch, which alleges him to be the rightful monarch of England instead of Queen Elizabeth II...
emigrated to Australia in 1960 and became an Australian citizen. In 2002 he succeeded his mother, becoming the 14th Earl of Loudoun. In 2004 the television documentary Britain's Real MonarchBritain's Real MonarchBritain's Real Monarch was a historical documentary presented by Tony Robinson first shown on Channel 4 on 3 January 2004. It has also been broadcast in America and Australia...
presented evidence that he was the rightful King of EnglandKingdom of EnglandThe Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
. However he is a committed republican and does not use his hereditary title in public. He lives in Jerilderie, New South WalesJerilderie, New South WalesJerilderie is a town of 768 people in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the only town in the Jerilderie Shire Local Government Area....
.
- Alexander MontaguAlexander Montagu, 13th Duke of ManchesterAlexander Charles David Drogo Montagu, 13th Duke of Manchester is an Australian-born hereditary peer of the Peerage of Great Britain.-Parents:...
was born in Australia in 1962, making him an Australian citizen from birth; however, he has long resided in California. He succeeded to his father's dukedom as 13th Duke of Manchester in 2002.
- The Earldom of LincolnEarl of LincolnEarl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First Creation :*William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First...
has passed down to an Australian branch of the Fiennes-Clinton family, now resident in Perth, Western Australia. The current head of the family is Robert Fiennes-Clinton, 19th Earl of LincolnRobert Edward Fiennes-Clinton, 19th Earl of LincolnRobert Edward Fiennes-Clinton, 19th Earl of Lincoln, FZS succeeded his grandfather, Edward Fiennes-Clinton, 18th Earl of Lincoln, in 2001.Educated at Pinjarra High School, he currently lives in Parmelia, Western Australia...
.
- One other Australian was to have been made an hereditary peer, but died before the peerage was formally created. Sir John ForrestJohn ForrestSir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
was an explorer and statesman, who became the first Premier of Western AustraliaPremier of Western AustraliaThe Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
(1890-1901). After FederationFederation of AustraliaThe Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
he entered Federal ParliamentParliament of AustraliaThe Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
(1901-1918). On 6 February 1918, he was informed that he was to be elevated to the British peerage as Baron Forrest, of Bunbury in the Commonwealth of Australia and of Forrest in FifeFifeFife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, and a public announcement was made of the honour. He died at sea off the coast of Sierra Leone while en route to England for medical treatment. Despite the announcement, no Letters PatentLetters patentLetters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
were issued before his death, so the peerage was not officially created. He is sometimes referred to as "Lord Forrest", however this is an inaccurate title.
Barony of Birdwood (1938)
Sir William BirdwoodWilliam Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood
Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, CIE, DSO was a First World War British general who is best known as the commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915.- Youth and early career :Birdwood was born...
was a British military commander prominent at Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
. After retirement from the army in 1930, Birdwood made a bid to become 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...
. He had the backing of King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
. However, the Australian Prime Minister James Scullin
James Scullin
James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
insisted that his Australian nominee Sir Isaac Isaacs
Isaac Isaacs
Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs GCB GCMG KC was an Australian judge and politician, was the third Chief Justice of Australia, ninth Governor-General of Australia and the first born in Australia to occupy that post. He is the only person ever to have held both positions of Chief Justice of Australia and...
be appointed. The King ultimately felt bound to accept the advice of the Prime Minister, but he did not disguise his reluctance and displeasure. In 1938 Birdwood was raised to the peerage, taking the title Baron Birdwood, of Anzac and of Totnes in the County of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. He died in 1951. As of 2007 the barony is held by his grandson, the 3rd Baron Birdwood. Sir Isaac Isaacs himself was nominated for a peerage, but this was refused.
Barony of Dugan (1949)
Sir Winston DuganWinston Dugan, 1st Baron Dugan of Victoria
Major-General Winston Joseph Dugan, 1st Baron Dugan of Victoria GCMG, CB, DSO, KStJ , known as Sir Winston Dugan between 1934 and 1949, was a British administrator and a career British Army officer...
(1877–1951) was a British administrator. He served as Governor of South Australia from 1934 to 1939 then Governor of Victoria until 1949. He was also the Administrator of the Commonwealth
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...
on two occasions. He was created Baron Dugan of Victoria, of Lurgan in the County of Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
, on 7 July 1949. The title became extinct upon his death.
Viscountcy of Slim (1960)
Field MarshalField Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Sir William Slim
William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim
Field Marshal William Joseph "Bill"'Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, KG, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, DSO, MC, KStJ was a British military commander and the 13th Governor-General of Australia....
(1891-1970) was a British military commander who had fought alongside Australians in both world wars, at Gallipoli, the Middle East and other places. He 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...
from 1952 to 1960, when he returned to England. On the initiative of the then Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, Sir William and Lady Slim received Australian pensions and passports. In 1960 Slim was raised to the peerage, taking the title Viscount Slim
Viscount Slim
Viscount Slim, of Yarralumla in the Capital Territory of Australia and of Bishopston in the City and County of Bristol, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1960 for Field Marshal Sir William Slim upon the end of his term as Governor-General of Australia. the title is...
, of Yarralumla in the Capital Territory of Australia and of Bishopston in the City and County of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. He was succeeded upon his death by his son John
John Slim, 2nd Viscount Slim
Colonel John Douglas Slim, 2nd Viscount Slim OBE, DL, FRGS is a British peer and soldier. He is one of the 92 hereditary peers in the House of Lords, elected to remain after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. In 1970, he succeeded to his father's title...
. The current heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is his grandson Mark William Rawdon Slim.
Other
There were other Governors-General of Australia who were British hereditary peers but whose peerages pre-dated their assuming the office of Governor-General:- 7th Earl of HopetounJohn Hope, 1st Marquess of LinlithgowJohn Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC , also known as Viscount Aithrie before 1873 and as The 7th Earl of Hopetoun between 1873 and 1902, was a Scottish aristocrat, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his brief and controversial tenure as the...
- 2nd Baron TennysonHallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron TennysonHallam 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...
- 1st Baron NorthcoteHenry Northcote, 1st Baron NorthcoteHenry Stafford Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote GCMG, GCIE, CB, PC , known as Sir Henry Northcote, Bt, between 1887 and 1900, was a Conservative politician and colonial administrator...
- 2nd Earl of DudleyWilliam Ward, 2nd Earl of DudleyWilliam Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley, KP, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, KStJ, PC, TD, DL , styled Viscount Ednam before 1885, was a British Conservative politician...
- 3rd Baron DenmanThomas Denman, 3rd Baron DenmanThomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman GCMG, KCVO, PC was a British Liberal politician and the fifth Governor-General of Australia.-Early years:...
- 1st Baron ForsterHenry Forster, 1st Baron ForsterHenry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster, GCMG, PC, DL , was a British Conservative Party politician who became the seventh Governor-General of Australia-Background and education:...
- 1st Baron StonehavenJohn Baird, 1st Viscount StonehavenJohn Lawrence Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven, GCMG, DSO, PC, JP, DL , known as Sir John Baird, Bt, between 1920 and 1925 and as The Lord Stonehaven between 1925 and 1928, was a British Conservative politician, who served as a Member of Parliament, government minister, and was later the eighth...
(he was raised to the peerage after his appointment as Governor-General was announced, but before taking up the office) - 1st Baron GowrieAlexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of GowrieBrigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie VC, GCMG, CB, DSO & Bar, PC was a British soldier and colonial governor and the tenth Governor-General of Australia. Serving for 9 years and 7 days, he is the longest serving Governor-General in Australia's history...
- Prince Henry, Duke of GloucesterPrince Henry, Duke of GloucesterThe Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was a soldier and member of the British Royal Family, the third son of George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary....
- 1st Viscount DunrossilWilliam Morrison, 1st Viscount DunrossilWilliam Shepherd Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, GCMG, MC, KStJ, PC, QC , the 14th Governor-General of Australia, was born in Scotland and educated at George Watson's College and the University of Edinburgh. He joined the British Army in the First World War and served with an artillery regiment...
- 1st Viscount De L'IsleWilliam Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'IsleWilliam Philip Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle and 6th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley VC KG GCMG GCVO KStJ PC , was the 15th Governor-General of Australia and the final non-Australian to hold the office...
Another Governor-General, Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson, was raised to the peerage as 1st Viscount Novar after leaving the office. However, his peerage title contained no reference to any Australian place.
Australian life peers
Some Australians have been made life peers or peeresses of the United Kingdom. They include:- Richard CaseyRichard Casey, Baron CaseyRichard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
(1890–1976) resigned from the Parliament in 1960 in order to accept a life peerage. He became "Baron Casey, of Berwick in the State of Victoria and the Commonwealth of Australia, and of the City of Westminster", and he took his seat in the House of LordsHouse of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. In 1965 he was made Governor-General of AustraliaGovernor-General of AustraliaThe 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...
.
- Sir Howard Florey (1898-1968) was made a life peer in 1965 as "Baron Florey, of Adelaide in the State of South Australia and Commonwealth of Australia and of Marston in the County of Oxford". Both Florey and the discoverer of penicillinPenicillinPenicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
, Sir Alexander FlemingAlexander FlemingSir Alexander Fleming was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy...
, were knighted in 1944. Florey's peerage recognised the monumental work he did in making penicillin available in sufficient quantities to save millions of lives in World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
- Robert Hall (1901-1988), Australian-born economic adviser to the UK government (1953-61) and a member of Britain's Economic Planning Board (1947-61), was made a life peer in 1969. He took the name "Baron Roberthall, of Silverspear in the State of Queensland and Commonwealth of Australia and of Trenance in the County of Cornwall".
- Trixie GardnerTrixie Gardner, Baroness Gardner of ParkesRachel Trixie Anne Gardner, Baroness Gardner of Parkes, AM FRSA is an Australian-born dentist, Conservative politician, and life peeress of the United Kingdom parliament...
(born 1927), dentist and Conservative politician, was made a life peeress as "Baroness Gardner of Parkes in the State of New South Wales and Commonwealth of Australia, and of Southgate in Greater London", on 19 June 1981. She is the only Australian-born life peeress.
- Sir Robert MayRobert May, Baron May of OxfordRobert McCredie May, Baron May of Oxford, OM, AC, PRS is an Australian scientist who has been Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, President of the Royal Society, and a Professor at Sydney and Princeton. He now holds joint professorships at Oxford, and Imperial College London...
(born 1936), Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government, President of the Royal Society, and a Professor at Sydney, Princeton, Oxford, and Imperial College London, was made a life peer in 2001. After his initial preference for "Baron May of Woollahra" failed an objection from the Protocol Office of the Australian Prime Minister's DepartmentDepartment of the Prime Minister and CabinetDepartment of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is a government office in some Commonwealth Realms.*Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet *Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet -See also:...
, he chose the title "Baron May of Oxford, of Oxford in the County of Oxfordshire".
- Alec BroersAlec Broers, Baron BroersAlec Nigel Broers, Baron Broers, is an Anglo-Australian electrical engineer.Broers was born in Calcutta, India and educated at Geelong Grammar School and Melbourne University in Australia, and then University of Cambridge in England.He then worked in the research and development laboratories of...
, former Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University. His title as a life peer is "Baron Broers, of Cambridge in the County of Cambridgeshire"
Expectations unfullfilled
In some cases a person was nominated for a peerage which was refused, such as Sir Isaac IsaacsIsaac Isaacs
Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs GCB GCMG KC was an Australian judge and politician, was the third Chief Justice of Australia, ninth Governor-General of Australia and the first born in Australia to occupy that post. He is the only person ever to have held both positions of Chief Justice of Australia and...
.
In some cases there was a very strong expectation of being nominated for a peerage that failed to materialise, such as Sir Henry Bolte
Henry Bolte
Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG was an Australian politician. He was the 38th and longest serving Premier of Victoria.- Early years :...
.
In some cases, the nominee died before the peerage was granted, such as Daniel Patrick O'Connell.
Australian baronetcies
Although baronetcies are not peerages, relevant details are included here for ease of reference. The following Australians were awarded baronetcies:Baronetcy of Clarke of Rupertswood
Sir William John Clarke 1st Bt. (1882, Colony of Victoria)The baronetcy
Clarke Baronets
There have been five Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Clarke , two in the Baronetage of England and three in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...
is extant. Application has been made by the prospective 4th baronet, Rupert Grant Alexander Clarke
Baronetcy of Cooper of Woollahra
Sir Daniel Cooper, 1st Bt. (1863, Colony of New South Wales)The baronetcy
Cooper Baronets
There have been nine Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Cooper, one in the Baronetage of England, one in the Baronetage of Ireland and seven in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom....
is extant. Currently held by Sir William Cooper, 6th Bt.
Baronetcy of Nicholson of Luddenham
Sir Charles NicholsonCharles Nicholson
Sir Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet was a British-Australian politician, university founder, explorer, pastoralist, antiquarian and philanthropist...
, 1st Bt. (1859, Colony of New South Wales)
The baronetcy
Nicholson Baronets
There have been three Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Nicholson, all in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. See also Nicolson Baronets....
is extinct.
Baronetcy of Way of Montefiore
Sir Samuel James WaySamuel Way
Sir Samuel James Way, 1st Baronet , English-Australian jurist, was a Chief Justice from 18 March 1876 until 8 January 1916 of the Supreme Court of South Australia, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of South Australia.Way was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1836...
, 1st Bt. (1899, Colony of South Australia)
The baronetcy is extinct.
See also
- Members of the House of LordsMembers of the House of LordsThis is a list of members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Lords Spiritual:-Lords Temporal:-Peers on leave of absence:...
- Canadian titles debateCanadian titles debateThe Canadian titles debate has been ongoing since the adoption of the Nickle Resolution in 1919. This resolution marked the earliest attempt to establish a Canadian government policy requesting the Sovereign not to grant knighthoods, baronetcies, and peerages to Canadians, and set the precedent for...
- Cracroft's peerage