The following persons have served as British High Commissioner to Australia. Countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations typically exchange High Commissioners, rather than Ambassadors. Though there are a few technical and historical differences, they are now in practice one and the same office. Despite Britain's close relationship with Australia, there was only a High Commissioner from London appointed in 1936.
Prior to 1936, the Governor-General of Australia was the official representative of the British government, as well as the crown. This was changed after the 1926 Imperial Conference and the subsequent Balfour Declaration and the Statute of Westminster. Although Australia didn't ratify the Statute of Westminster until 1942 (retroactive to 1939), the United Kingdom appointed a High Commissioner to regularise the role of the Governor-General in Australia.
| High Commissioner | Start of Term | End of Term |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Geoffrey Whiskard GCMG | 1936 | 1941 |
| The Rt Hon. Sir Ronald Cross KCMG KCVO | 1941 | 1945 |
| Edward Williams | 1946 | 1952 |
| Sir Stephen Holmes | 1952 | 1956 |
| The Rt Hon. The Lord Carrington KG GCMG CH MC PC DL | 1956 | 1959 |
| Sir William Oliver GBE KCB KCMG DL | 1959 | 1965 |
| Sir Charles Johnston GCMG KStJ | 1965 | 1971 |
| The Rt Hon. Sir Morrice James GCMG CVO MBE | 1971 | 1976 |
| Sir Donald Tebbit GCMG | 1976 | 1980 |
| Sir John Mason | 1980 | 1984 |
| Sir John Leahy KCMG | 1984 | 1988 |
| Sir John Coles | 1988 | 1991 |
| Sir Brian Barder | 1991 | 1994 |
| Sir Roger Carrick | 1994 | 1997 |
| The Hon. Alex Allan | 1997 | 1999 |
| The Rt Hon. Lord Goodlad KCMG PC | 1999 | 2005 |
| The Rt Hon. Helen Liddell | 2005 | 2009 |
| The Rt Hon. Baroness Amos PC | 2009 | 2010 |
| Paul Madden | 2011 | Present |
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, high, united, kingdom and/or australia:
“A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The advice of their elders to young men is very apt to be as unreal as a list of the hundred best books.”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935)
“I remember once dreaming of pushing a canoe up the rivers of Maine, and that, when I had got so high that the channels were dry, I kept on through the ravines and gorges, nearly as well as before, by pushing a little harder, and now it seemed to me that my dream was partially realized.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I am a freeman, an American, a United States Senator, and a Democrat, in that order.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“Rev. J.D. Liddell: The Kingdom of God is not a democracy. The Lord never seeks re- election. There’s no discussion. No deliberation. No referenda as to which road to take. There’s one right, one wrong. One absolute ruler.
Sandy: A dictator, you mean.
Rev. J.D. Liddell: Aye, but a benign, loving dictator.”
—Colin Welland (b. 1934)
“It is very considerably smaller than Australia and British Somaliland put together. As things stand at present there is nothing much the Texans can do about this, and ... they are inclined to shy away from the subject in ordinary conversation, muttering defensively about the size of oranges.”
—Alex Atkinson, British humor writer. repr. In Present Laughter, ed. Alan Coren (1982)