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Governor-General 1 July 2019 to 1 July 2024
Former Chief of the Defence Force and NSW Governor, David Hurley (b.1953) is Australia’s 27th Governor-General. He is the first Governor-General to be born during the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Wollongong born, Hurley grew up in Port Kembla where he attended the local high school. He graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon and Deakin University in 1975. Two years later he married Linda (née McMartin) and together they have three children.1
Following his studies, Hurley was commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal Australian Infantry Corps and posted to the 1st Battalion. Appointments to the Irish Guards (British) and the 5th and 7th Battalions followed. In 1993 he led the 1st Battalion during Operation Solace in Somalia, earning the Distinguished Service Cross. He later served as Chief of Capability Development Group and Chief of Joint Operations Command. In 2003 Hurley was promoted to lieutenant-general and in 2008 he became Vice-Chief of the Defence Force. He subsequently succeeded Angus Houston as Chief of the Defence Force in 2011 before retiring on 30 June 2014 after 42 years of service.2
On 5 June 2014, NSW Premier Mike Baird announced that Hurley would become the 38th Governor of New South Wales.3 In 2015 he was invested as Knight of the Order of St John.4 As Governor, he participated in weekly boxing workouts with Indigenous children as part of the program called ‘Tribal Warriors’.5
On 16 December 2018, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Hurley would serve as Australia’s 27th Governor-General. At his commencement ceremony at Parliament House the following July, Hurley’s first words spoken were in the local Ngunnawal language. Also within this speech, Hurley spoke of the value of Australia’s cultural diversity, saying:
I have seen the richness of spirit at work in the people and organisations assisting our veterans, our rural communities under stress, asylum seekers who we have welcomed into our country and our Indigenous brothers and sisters.6
Hurley’s tenure as Governor-General often reflected this sentiment, spanning across his many civic engagements. He travelled regularly to bushfire- and flood-affected areas, and enthusiastically supported veterans and Indigenous charities and causes.
Hurley was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2010 and holds honorary doctorates from the University of Wollongong (2013), University of New South Wales (2015), and Macquarie University (2017).
Jude Rae
Sydney-born artist Jude Rae (b.1956) is primarily known for her reflective still-life paintings, portraits and architectural interiors. She attended the Julian Ashton Art School as a secondary student in the 1970s before undertaking further studies in Art History at the University of Sydney. She then concentrated on developing her practice, enrolling at the College of Fine Arts in Sydney and later completing a Masters Degree in Visual Art at Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand. Of great influence for Rae during these early years was the realist work of her father and fellow painter David Rae. In 1987, she held her first solo exhibition and since then has exhibited work throughout Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and the USA. She has been awarded residencies in France, Italy, and New Zealand and has taught art at a tertiary level at Auckland University, the Australian National University, and the National Art School (Sydney). She won the Portia Geach Memorial Award for portraiture by women artists in 2005 and in 2008 and was a highly commended finalist in the 2019 Archibald Prize.7
David John Hurley
by Jude Rae
2024
Oil on canvas
139 x 104.2 cm
Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Art Collections
References
1. Matthew Dore, ‘David Hurley named as Australia’s next governor-general’, ABC News online, 16 December 2018; Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, ‘Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley’s biography’.
2. Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, ‘His Excellency General the Honorable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd)’.
3. ABC News online, ‘Defence Force Chief David Hurley to replace Marie Bashir as NSW Governor, 5 June 2014’.
4. Governor of New South Wales, ‘Vice Regal Program: Tuesday, 17 March 2015’.
5. Paul Karp and Lisa Cox, ‘David Hurley named next governor general of Australia as Labor blasts timing’, The Guardian, 15 December 2018.
6. The Governor-General of The Commonwealth of Australia, ‘Address at Swearing-in Ceremony’, 1 July 2019.
7. ‘Jude Rae: Biography’; ‘The art that made me: Jude Rae’, Art Gallery of NSW. Websites accessed 15 April 2021.