The High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Australia is an officer of the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

's foremost

diplomatic representative Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

to the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Despite Britain's close relationship with Australia, the first High Commissioner from London was not appointed until 1936, owing to the clarification of Britain's relations with the Imperial

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

s after the

Statute of Westminster 1931 The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets the basis for the relationship between the Commonwealth realms and the Crown. Passed on 11 December 1931, the statute increased the sovereignty of the ...

Office history

From the beginning of the British colonisation in 1788 and after Australia's federation in 1901, the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.various state governors had been the official representatives of the British government, as well as the Crown. Following the

1926 Imperial Conference The 1926 Imperial Conference was the fifth Imperial Conference bringing together the prime ministers of the Dominions of the British Empire. It was held in London from 19 October to 22 November 1926. The conference was notable for producing th ...

and the subsequent

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

an Australian, Sir

Isaac Isaacs Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs (6 August 1855 – 11 February 1948) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge who served as the ninth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1931 to 1936. He had previously served on the High Court of Au ...

, became Governor-General in January 1931. Being an Australian, it was felt in London he couldn't properly represent the British Government. They thus appointed their Representative for Migration in Melbourne

Ernest Tristram Crutchley Ernest Tristram Crutchley (10 February 1878 – 5 October 1940) was a British civil servant who was the predecessor of the first British High Commissioner to Australia. Career Crutchley was educated at Emanuel School and joined the Post Office a ...

as their first Representative of His Majesty's Government in Australia, pending the nomination of a High Commissioner, on the Canadian model. That same year, the Statute of Westminster made easier the creation of such High Commissions in the Dominions but as the Australian Government delayed its ratification, the United Kingdom had to wait until 1936 to appoint a High Commissioner to regularise the role of the Governor-General in Australia, six years before Australia's actual ratification of the Statute.

Office-holders

References

External links

British High Commission Canberra - GOV.UK
{{Ambassadors and High Commissioners to Australia Australia and the Commonwealth of Nations Australia–United Kingdom relations

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

United Kingdom High Commissioner United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations