The Governor General of Australia is ‘appointed by the Queen shall be Her Majesty’s representative in the Commonwealth, and shall have and may exercise in the Commonwealth during the Queen’s pleasure, but subject to this Constitution, such powers and functions of the Queen as Her Majesty may be pleased to assign to him.’ (Australian Constitution)
Queen Victoria appointed Lord Hopetoun, Governor of Victoria from 1889 to 1895, as the first Governor-General.
The wording of first Australian Constitution stipulated that the Governor General will be a ‘him’. Australia did not have a female Governor General until 2008 when Quentin Bryce was appointed.
History Trust of South Australia, HT 2004.902
