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 Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

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 North ...

'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 and the subsequent Balfour Declaration 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 state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

United Kingdom High Commissioner United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations