Robert Lyall Hannaford (b.1944), William Patrick Deane (detail), 2001, Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Art Collection. View full image
Governor-General, 16 February 1996 to 29 June 2001
In a 1996 speech, William Deane (b.1931) declared that ‘the foundations of good leadership are more likely to be knowledge, sincerity, and humility than personal ambition and self-promotion’.1 As Governor-General, Deane embodied these values at a time when Australians were debating the very role of the head of state.
Deane was born in Melbourne, the son of Cornelius, an examiner of patents, and Lillian Deane, but grew up in Canberra. He was educated at St Christopher’s Convent School before transferring to St Joseph’s College in Sydney. He studied arts and law at the University of Sydney, where he was jointly awarded the university medal for law. Deane went on to study international law in Europe and was called to the Bar in 1957. He married solicitor Helen Russell in 1965; they had two children.
Deane was appointed a KC in 1966 and, in 1977, a judge in the NSW Supreme Court. He also became a judge of the Federal Court of Australia that same year. In 1982, he was appointed a justice of the High Court of Australia and was made a KBE. Prime Minister Paul Keating described him as the ‘intellectual leader’ of the High Court.2 Deane played a notable role in some of the Court’s most consequential decisions including Mabo v Queensland (No. 2)3 which overturned the doctrine of terra nullius and recognised native title in Australian law.4 Keating nominated Deane as Governor-General in the belief that his legal background could help inform Australians during public debate over whether Australia should become a republic.5
Deane was sworn in as Governor-General in February 1996. In this role he brought national attention to youth unemployment, homelessness, and the need for reconciliation with Indigenous Australians. His sincerity and humility attracted widespread admiration; at the time of the 1999 Republic Referendum, opinion polls showed that for a majority of Australians, if the referendum was successful, Deane was their ‘preferred first president’.6
On his final day as Governor-General, Deane characteristically hosted a lunch for homeless children associated with the Youth Off The Streets program. Deane was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in 2001.
Robert Lyall Hannaford AM
South Australian-born painter, sculptor and conservationist Robert Hannaford (b.1944) grew up on his family farm before moving to Adelaide in his teens to complete his education. He worked as a political cartoonist for the Advertiser from 1964 to 1967. Though largely self-taught, Hannaford’s passion for painting was encouraged by Australian artists and mentors, Sir Hans Heysen and Ivor Hele. In 1967 and 1968, Hannaford attended the Ballarat Technical Art School, under the control of the School of Mines, and from 1969 to 1973 was winner of the AME Bale Travelling Scholarship and Art Prize. Hannaford has been at the forefront of contemporary Australian portraiture, winning the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in 1990, the Viewer Prize in 1991 and 1998, and has been a frequent finalist in the Archibald Prize. He also painted Paul Keating for the HMC. In 2001, he was commissioned to paint the centenary sitting of the Australian Parliament. Hannaford’s portraits of other prominent Australians include Chief Justice Murray Gleeson and Dame Joan Sutherland. Hannaford was made an AM in 2014 for his service to the arts.
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William Patrick Deane
by Robert Lyall Hannaford
2001
Oil on canvas
110.5 x 82.5
Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Art Collection
References
1. T Stephens, Sir William Deane: The Things That Matter, Hodder, Sydney, 2002, p. 9. Information in this biography has also been taken from: B Carroll, Australia’s Governors-General: From Hopetoun to Jeffery, Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd, Kenthurst, NSW, 2004; H Roberts, ‘‘A mirror to the man – reflecting on Justice William Deane: a private man in public office’, Adelaide Law Review, 32(1), 2011, pp. 17–46; ‘Biography – Sir William’, The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Websites accessed 22 April 2021.
2. D Watson, Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: A Portrait of Paul Keating PM, Random House Australia, Milsons Point, NSW, 2002, p. 597.
3. ‘Mabo v Queensland (No. 2)’ [1992], High Court of Australia, 175 CLR 1, accessed 26 August 2021.
4. Roberts, op. cit.
5. Carroll, op. cit., p. 188.
6. Stephens, op. cit.
7. Information in this biography has been taken from: ‘Hannaford, Robert’, A McCulloch, S McCulloch and E McCulloch Childs, eds, The New McCulloch’s Encyclopedia of Australian Art, Aus Art Editions in association with The Miegunyah Press, 2006, p. 496; ‘Robert Hannaford’, High Court of Australia; ‘; ‘Robert Hannaford: artist statement’; ‘Robert Hannaford’, National Portrait Gallery. Websites accessed 25 March 2021.