Kerr was the first chairman of the Law Association for Asia and the Western Pacific (LawAsia), founded by Justice Paul Toose and John Bruce Piggot in 1966. She was survived by her two children and four grandchildren and is buried beside her husband at Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium. She died on September 9 … Labor parliamentarians, federal and state, refused to accept his legitimacy as Governor-General, shunning official functions where he was in attendance. Sir John Kerr with his second wife, Lady Ann, on their wedding day in April 1975. Credit: Alan Purcell. Genealogy profile for Sir Robert Kerr, Kt. Kerr later put forward five propositions to justify his actions:[citation needed], Kerr later stated that Whitlam represented "something that perhaps I might have been, had I stayed in the party as he did",[24] and it has been suggested that the Dismissal was "as much a case of a thwarted ego seeking his place in history as Whitlam's mismanagement of the economy". … In 1935 she was awarded a French Government travelling scholarship and gained her Master of Arts from the Sorbonne, Paris. Updated at 1.38am EDT. They were married in 1975 during his term of office, six months after the death of his first wife Alison. Whitlam said later that he intended these remarks to protect Kerr, by making clear his view that the Governor-General had no power to intervene. [15] The new parliament was opened by Sir Paul Hasluck on 9 July, and Kerr was sworn in as Governor-General on 11 July. CU Couple holding hands Zoom out MV as they stroll up towards Admiralty House. [5][6] He once corrected her French on a menu, which led Margaret Whitlam to later say, only half jokingly, that he had sealed his fate by it. Despite the passion of die-hard Labor supporters, furious at what they saw as an establishment plot to destroy a Labor government, Labor suffered its greatest-ever loss (7.4% down on its 1974 vote) at the hands of the Coalition, which continued to hold power until 1983. However, Paul Kelly claims that she was shown the draft dismissal letter on the morning of 11 November, and that the sentence "It is for the people now to decide the issue, which the two leaders have failed to decide" was added at her suggestion.[8]. On 30 October, he proposed a compromise solution to Whitlam and Fraser which would have, in effect, meant a backdown by Fraser (Kerr proposed that the Opposition allow the supply bills to be passed in return for Whitlam's abandoning plans to call an early Senate election), but Fraser did not agree to this. [9]:p.13 Whitlam seems to have believed that, because of Kerr's former membership in the Labor Party, he was still politically "reliable", without realising that Kerr's political views had changed and that he had come to see the role of Governor-General differently from Whitlam. [22] Kerr claimed Whitlam then sought to telephone Buckingham Palace to advise Kerr's dismissal, but Whitlam has always denied this. 9th Baron of Ferniehirst (Kerr) ... II, died in 1543. Kerr served as chairman of that organisation until 1970.[9]:p.172. He had three children by his first wife, Alison Worstead. In October 1975 the Liberal-Country party opposition coalition in the Senate (led by Malcolm Fraser) voted to defer consideration of the supply bills until the Whitlam government agreed to 'submit itself to the Australian people', and a political stalemate resulted. [20]:p.237–238 Fraser urged Kerr to bring about an election before the end of 1975. MV Sir John and his new wife emerge onto verandah of Admiralty House. The disputed bills that had led to the double dissolution were reintroduced, and, as expected, were again rejected. [11], She was privy to her husband's thoughts and anxieties as the 1975 constitutional crisis developed, but in his autobiography Matters for Judgement (1978) Sir John Kerr strongly denied she had either dissuaded him from warning the Prime Minister Gough Whitlam that he was going to dismiss him, or that she herself had a political axe to grind. One of his closest friends was Ken Gee, who eventually joined him on the judiciary but was also known for his flirtation with Trotskyism. Kerr died alone in his home in Sydney in 1991 from a brain tumour, survived by his three children and his second wife. Some expected a major backlash against Fraser in favour of Whitlam (who had launched his campaign by calling upon his supporters to "maintain your rage"), based on opinion polls in October and early November which had shown disapproval of Fraser's tactics. Sir Thomas, 9th Baron and son of Sir John… Kerr's wife Peggy was a fellow student of Margaret Whitlam during university days. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, during which time the state underwent considerable economic development. A ‘peel tower’ is built by Sir Thomas Kerr. Kerr regarded the situation as untenable, believing the prime minister was obliged to either resign or call a general election, which Whitlam was unwilling to do. He came from a line of waterside workers—his father was a boilermaker, his grandfather was a stevedore, and his great-grandfather was a shipwright. In fact, his resignation had already been proposed as early as March 1977, during the Queen's visit. We are very sad to announce that Admiral Sir John Beverly Kerr GCB DL (Qual N 1964) passed away on 2 Dec aged 82. During 1963 she taught French at North Sydney Boys High School in Sydney. He disliked what he saw as the Labor Party's leftward trend under Evatt's leadership, but was not attracted to the breakaway group, the Democratic Labor Party. Sir John Kerr and Gough Whitlam The Whitlam Government had won a second term in May 1974 , but failed to win control of the Senate , where the balance of power was held by two independents. Kerr began his education at the Birchgrove Public School. Kerr returned to the bar in 1948, becoming a prominent lawyer representing trade union clients and a member of the Labor Party. 2016) p. xiii, Jenny Hocking The Dismissal Dossier: Everything You Were Never Meant to Know About November 1975 updated edition (MUP. He immediately granted Fraser's request for a double dissolution, leading to a federal election which saw Whitlam and the ALP defeated in a landslide. [12] Kerr did not know Whitlam well, although they had shared legal chambers some years earlier, but he had remained friends with several ministers in Whitlam's government, such as Jim McClelland and Joe Riordan. He knew that several Liberal senators were uneasy about the blocking of supply, and might not be relied on for much longer—as was indeed confirmed by Liberal Senator Reg Withers after the dismissal. She was known as Nancy to her friends. They were married in 1975 during his term of office, six months after the death of his first wife Alison. On 2 November, Fraser offered to pass the bills if Whitlam would agree to call an election before the middle of 1976, but Whitlam in turn rejected that solution. On 9 September his wife Peggy died after a long illness, aged 59. Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen KCMG (13 January 1911 – 23 April 2005) was an Australian conservative politician. Lady Anne Katherine (1812-1829), died unmarried. House of Representatives Hansard, 11 November 1975, This page was last edited on 14 February 2021, at 19:58. [9]:p.423 Kerr was appointed to the post of Ambassador to UNESCO, an office which he felt unable to take up because of continuing bitter attacks on him both inside and outside the Parliament. Obituary: Lady Kerr, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 September 1997. With the full support of caucus Whitlam announced that if the Opposition continued to block Supply in the Senate, he would call an early half-Senate election in December. Evatt became the first in a series of patrons who helped Kerr progress in his career despite a relatively humble background.[5]. Fraser was also aware of these considerations. Letters between Governor-General Sir John Kerr and Buckingham Palace reveal he didn't forewarn The Queen of the dismissal of Gough Whitlam on November 11, 1975, to protect her. [12][38], In 1974 he was made a Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. [7] After his dismissal, Whitlam also referred to her as "the Lady Macbeth of Yarralumla". [2] He was sacked three months later, but soon found work at the Cockatoo Island Dockyard, which were at full capacity due to the ongoing war. He topped the school in English, history, and chemistry in his final year. His contemporaries remembered him as quite aloof; one of his few close friends was Francis James. John Kerr was born in 1937, educated at a primary school in Preston and a new grammar school near Manchester, entered Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1954 and was commissioned in 1957 (He graduated in first place, for which he was awarded HM the Queen’s Gold … In the ensuing election campaign, the Australian Labor Party's focus was predominantly on the asserted illegitimacy of the dismissal (with the slogan of "Shame Fraser, Shame"), while the Coalition focused on criticism of Labor's economic management. Kerr and others disagreed fundamentally with this view, arguing the Constitution very clearly set out the Governor-General's powers. The second Lady Kerr died in 1997, survived by the two children of her first marriage. At one time he had made a bid for Liberal Party preselection for the federal seat of Warringah. On 16 October, the Liberal frontbencher, Robert Ellicott (a former Commonwealth Solicitor-General) published with Fraser's approval a legal opinion which he had prepared for the Shadow Cabinet, arguing that the Governor-General had both the right and the duty to dismiss the government if it could not obtain supply. [11], On 30 March 1977 he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), an award within the personal gift of the Sovereign, for services as Governor-General. Anne Dorothy Taggart was born in 1914. "It's human for people to be infatuated, to lust, to love — all these are human reactions. In October 1975 the Liberal-Country party opposition coalition in the Senate (led by Malcolm Fraser) voted to defer consideration of the supply bills until the Whitlam government agreed to 'submit itself to the Australian people', and a political stalemate resulted. [citation needed], Kerr's personal relationship with Whitlam by this stage was not strong, he had been upset by suggestions that the Executive Council had acted improperly during the Loans Affair and, moreover, he was suspicious that if Whitlam knew he was contemplating dismissing the Government, he (Whitlam) would react by pre-emptively advising the Queen to dismiss Kerr instead. Her marriage to Robson was dissolved in early 1975. He was involved in the union movement, and participated in a number of strikes, including the 1917 general strike, during which he went without pay for two months. [11]) In Whitlam's book The Truth of the Matter he claimed that Fraser also asked the UK Prime Minister, Jim Callaghan, to grant Kerr a peerage, specifically a viscountcy, but that Callaghan refused. Kerr was born in Sydney to working-class parents. Gough Whitlam was so enraged at being dismissed by the Governor-General that he waged a bitter months-long 'smear campaign'. [17] With the full support of caucus Whitlam announced that if the Opposition continued to block Supply in the Senate, he would call an early half-Senate election in December. The Whitlam Government had won a second term in May 1974 following a double dissolution and picked up an additional three Senate seats, leaving it on equal numbers with the Liberal-Country party coalition and with the balance of power held by two independents. On 30 July, Kerr signed a proclamation convening the historic Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament on 6 and 7 August. For this reason, he was keen to see the crisis brought to an early conclusion. Sir John Kerr with his second wife, Lady Ann, on their wedding day in April 1975. On 17 October, Whitlam told an interviewer that the Governor-General could not intervene in the crisis in view of the convention that he must always act on the advice of his Prime Minister. Sir Schomberg Kerr McDonnell, GCVO, KCB, FSA, was the youngest son of Mark McDonnell, 5th Earl of Antrim, and his wife Jane Emma Hannah Macan. Boyce was released from prison on parole on 16 September 2002 after serving a little over 25 years, accounting for his time spent outside from the escape. Lady Harriet Louise Anne (1808-1884), married Sir John Stuart Hepburn Forbes, 8th Baronet. Whitlam had offered to extend his term, but Hasluck declined, citing his wife's refusal to remain at Yarralumla longer than the originally agreed five years. [19]:p.356 Whitlam and Kerr met alone in Kerr's study. It is in every respect an affront to this country. He received the University Medal and First Class Honours when he graduated with a Law degree in 1936. Intervention by the Governor-General was the only clear remedy in the event that supply could not be legislated and the prime minister declined to advise an election. Shortly thereafter he married Kathleen "Cait" Mills, whom he had met when she was working as a paralegal spearheading efforts to obtain parole for Lee. [3] He won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Fort Street Boys' High School, where he excelled academically. [40] When the category of Knight was added to the Order on 24 May 1976, he was made Principal Knight of the Order (AK). The Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, offered Sir John the post. Kerr was appointed Chief Justice of New South Wales in 1972. Sir John Robert Kerr AK, GCMG, GCVO, QC (24 September 1914 – 24 March 1991) was an Australian barrister and judge who served as the 18th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1974 to 1977. He made it clear in several conversations with ministers that he did not accept the view that the Governor-General could play no role in the crisis until supply actually ran out: he saw it as his duty to help prevent things from getting to that stage. They had a son and a daughter. Anne Kerr, Lady Kerr (née Taggart, previously Robson; 1914 – 16 September 1997) was the second wife of Sir John Kerr, Governor-General of Australia (1974–1977). This allowed Lang to seek Game's dismissal if he dared, which he did not.[21]. On 1 April 1942 Kerr began full-time duty in the Citizen Military Forces, at the Base Supply Depot, Parkes. Mr Fraser was not told why I wanted him to come. [12] Kerr was announced as Governor-General-designate on 27 February 1974,[13][14] by which time he had become Sir John Kerr. Historian Jenny Hocking has won her High Court bid to access the letters exchanged between then governor-general Sir John Kerr and the Queen around the time of … [12], He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1977 on the instigation of Malcolm Fraser. [39] (This was another appointment he had unsuccessfully sought from Whitlam in 1974. For the next 4 weeks Fraser deferred any vote on these bills. After her success with Lee, she turned her attention to securing parole for Boyce as well, and the two developed a personal relationship.The couple moved to Oregon, and Boyce's own parole ended in 2007. Sir Andrew Kerr’s third son Thomas of Smailholm marries his cousin Margaret Kerr of Kersheugh. [12], In 1972, the Prime Minister, Billy McMahon, had recommended Kerr for a promotion within the order to Knight Commander (KCMG), to be announced in the 1973 New Year's Honours. ", he added. Genealogy profile for Sir John Kerr Sir John Kerr (c.1140 - c.1205) - Genealogy Genealogy for Sir John Kerr (c.1140 - c.1205) family tree on Geni, with over 200 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. If the Government could not obtain supply, it had either to resign or call an election. Anne Kerr, Lady Kerr (née Taggart, previously Robson; 1914 – 16 September 1997) was the second wife of Sir John Kerr, Governor-General of Australia (1974–1977). [9]:p.342–344 He also advised him that at least one other High Court justice, Sir Anthony Mason, concurred in this view. [19]:p.284, Kerr saw himself as an active player in the unfolding political drama. In 1966 she was the first Australian to become a member of the International Association of Conference Interpreters. Legislative Council of New South Wales, 17 September 1974, Jenny Hocking The Dismissal Dossier: Everything You Were Never Meant to Know About November 1975 updated edition (MUP. Sir John’s son, Sir Thomas Kerr of Ferniehirst, was noted for his loyalty to Mary Queen of Scots, for whom he built a fortified house in the centre of Jedburgh. Game had warned Lang in advance that if he, Lang, did not withdraw certain regulations, then he, Game, would dismiss him. "[9]:p.428, According to historian Phillip Knightley, "The remaining years of Sir John Kerr's life were miserable ones. In 1941 she married Hugh Walker Robson QC, a barrister, who was appointed to the bench in 1970. During 1975 the government was enveloped by a series of ministerial scandals (the "Loans Affair"), which resulted in the sacking of two senior ministers, Rex Connor and Deputy Prime Minister, Jim Cairns. Legislative Council of New South Wales, 17 September 1974, Miller, Harry M "Confessions Of A Not-So-Secret Agent", Hachette Australia, 2009. He felt it necessary not to disclose this intention to Whitlam and his ministers because of his fear that Whitlam would advise the Queen to exercise her constitutional power to terminate Kerr's commission as Governor-General. The dismissal of the government sparked demonstrations from Whitlam's supporters, with the anger directed at Kerr a major factor in his early retirement in December 1977 and subsequent withdrawal from public life. Lady Alison Kerr, a marriage counsellor, had suffered a stroke nine years earlier from which she had never fully recovered. [9]:p.192 During this period his political views became more conservative. And this was a man who had lost his wife," she said. "Your discrimination is not limited to Constitutional issues", Charteris observed of Kerr’s new wife, Lady Anne Kerr, in a handwritten note on Buckingham Palace letter-paper. This ensured the then Labor government would not be put in the position of deciding whether to offer a state funeral, an honour that would normally be considered automatic for a former Governor-General. In July he was commissioned as an acting lieutenant and posted to … They later rented cottages in Rozelle and Dulwich Hill, buying the latter outright only in 1949. [9]:p.357[citation needed] So, after reconfirming that Whitlam's intention was to govern without parliamentary supply, Kerr withdrew his commission and served on him the letter of dismissal. He was appointed to the Commonwealth Industrial Court in 1966, later serving on territory supreme courts and as Chief Justice of New South Wales (1972–1974). The Whitlam Government did not hold a majority in the Senate, and following a series of controversies in 1975 – most notably the Loans Affair – the Liberal opposition leader Malcolm Fraser decided to block supply in an attempt to force an early election. Lady Frances (1810-1863), married George Wade. Various shots of Scots Kirk 77 ft 7. In view of the impending federal election scheduled for 2 December 1972 and the knowledge that the Labor Party's longstanding policy was not to support Imperial honours, Governor-General Sir Paul Hasluck chose not to forward such recommendations to the Queen, pending the result of the election. [41], In 1976 he was elevated to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG). He was educated at Fort Street Boys' High School. [9]:p.331 In so doing, Kerr was aware of the precedent set by Sir Philip Game, the Governor of New South Wales, who had dismissed Jack Lang's government in 1932. [4] In deciding to pursue law as a career, Kerr found a role model in H. V. Evatt, a fellow Fortian who in 1930 became the youngest-ever High Court judge; in the same year, Evatt completed a doctoral thesis on the royal prerogative. At this meeting Fraser increased the pressure on Kerr, advising him that the Opposition would not back down and would not accept any compromise, warning him that, if he did not take action against Whitlam, then the Opposition would begin to make direct public criticism of him for having "failed in his duty". He was subject to relentless harassment whenever he appeared in public. Kerr knew that Whitlam intended to ask for a half-Senate election, one which would need to be conducted without supply,. When Fraser answered affirmatively, Kerr then commissioned him as Prime Minister. When Whitlam had left, Kerr summoned Fraser[9]:p.364 and asked him the same questions which Fraser claims to have answered that morning. [2], As Lady Kerr, she forged a formidable reputation for snobbery:[3][4] in private, Gough Whitlam called her 'Fancy Nancy'. On the day he dismissed Gough Whitlam, the then governor general, Sir John Kerr, ... Charles then met his future wife Princess Diana in 1977. His son Sir John Kerr, 8th Baron of Ferniehirst, did great service against the English and rescued Queen Mary from incursions by the English against the Scots. At a press conference that afternoon he said "The Governor-General prevented me getting in touch with the Queen by just withdrawing the commission immediately"[9]:p.359[23] In an article in Quadrant magazine (March 2005, Volume 49, Number 3), David Smith, Kerr's Official Secretary, claimed that Whitlam knew of Kerr's intentions, the Queen had already made her position of non-intervention known to Whitlam and Kerr,[19]:p.329 and Kerr had called a double dissolution to be fair to both candidates, sincerely believing that Whitlam could win back government with the necessary majority in both houses. Votes still out", "Sir John Kerr dies alone at 76: the storm goes on", "High rise and heritage, a town planner's dilemma, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 February 1988, "Planning chief attacks draconian harbour laws", Sydney Morning Herald, 19 October 1989, "Former Judges of the Northern Territory", The Kerr Palace Letters at the National Archives of Australia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Kerr_(governor-general)&oldid=1006785386, Australian Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, Australian Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, People educated at Fort Street High School, Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, Judges of the Commonwealth Industrial Court, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2009, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. On 9 November, Kerr consulted the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, Sir Garfield Barwick. Facebook Twitter. [8] In addition to the powers normally exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister, there are certain uncodified reserve powers, exercisable on the Governor-General's own initiative. "I bet Eugene Forsey would have liked to be a fly on the wall! [6] Kerr eventually graduated in 1936 with first-class honours and the University Medal. Fraser had arrived earlier and been shown into another room. Over the following month, leading to the double dissolution election scheduled for 13 December 1975, Whitlam and ALP supporters constantly and intensely denigrated Kerr, no doubt in the belief that the electorate would prove sympathetic to the deposed Labor government. She was an honours graduate from the University of Sydney. The Liberal Opposition Leader, Malcolm Fraser, decided to use the Senate to block the government's budget bills, thus forcing an early election for the House of Representatives (this is called "blocking supply"). "The release of the Palace Letters reveals John Kerr and his wife, Anne, as nothing more than a couple of social climbers." 25 ft 5. Secret 'Palace letters' could illuminate Whitlam Dismissal if finally released 2016) Chapter 4 'Ambush: The Half-Senate Election', The recording of the quote is attributed to David Butler in, Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs, Australian School of Pacific Administration, Law Association for Asia and the Western Pacific, Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament, Death of Her Excellency Lady Kerr, Wife of the Governor-General: Address of Condolence, p. 1014, "Kerr's letter terminating Whitlam's commission", http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/john-kerr-dreamed-of-becoming-pm/story-fncvk70o-1226613695601, http://www.australianbiography.gov.au/subjects/mcclelland/interview5.html, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/news/hidden-identity/story-e6frg6rf-1111112579450, "Class traitor or saviour? After Gough Whitlam's election, Hasluck asked him if he were willing to endorse McMahon's recommendation for Kerr's knighthood, but he declined. Lady Kerr died in 1997 after a long battle with cancer. [9]:p.83–88 Kerr was familiar with this book, and re-read it before accepting Whitlam's offer of the governor-generalship. Robert Kerr (1518 - 1588) - Genealogy Genealogy for Robert Kerr (1518 - 1588) family tree on Geni, with over 200 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Archibald John Kerr Clark was born 17 March 1882 near Sydney, Australia, the son of John Kerr Clark (1838-1910), a sheep station owner originally from Lanarkshire, Scotland, and his wife Kate Louisa (1846-1926), daughter of Sir John Robertson, prime minister of New South Wales. However, by 1975, the office was viewed as having become almost entirely ceremonial, and it was understood that in most cases the Governor-General was bound to act on the advice of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He was the eldest of three children born to Laura May (née Cardwell) and Harry Kerr; his younger brother Dudley was born in 1917 and younger sister Elaine in 1926. His legal career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served with the Australian Army's Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs (DORCA) and attained the rank of colonel.
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