List of high commissioners of Australia to South Africa

The high commissioner of Australia to South Africa, known from 1961 to 1994 as the Ambassador of Australia to South Africa, is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the High Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia to South Africa in Pretoria. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and is currently held by Gita Kamath since 2 March 2019.

High Commissioner of Australia to South Africa
Incumbent Gita Kamath since 2 March 2019 (2019-03-02)
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Style	Her Excellency
Reports to	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Seat	Arcadia, Pretoria
Nominator	Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer	Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holder	George Knowles
Formation	21 August 1946
Website	Australian High Commission Pretoria

The ambassador also holds non-resident accreditation as high commissioner to Botswana (1973–1981, since 2004), Eswatini (since 1973), Lesotho (since 1973), Mozambique (since 2004), and Namibia (since 2010); and as Ambassador to Angola (since 2010), and the representative to the Southern African Development Community. The high commission also has oversight for Honorary Consulates in Luanda, Angola, and Maputo, Mozambique.^[1]

Posting history

Main article: Australia–South Africa relations

The Australian Government has offered diplomatic representation in Pretoria, South Africa since 1946. Between 1961 and 1994 the designation of the Australian representative in South Africa changed from high commissioner to ambassador.^[2] On 9 July 1973, ambassador Colin Moodie received non-resident accreditation as Australia's first high commissioner to Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.^[3]

Heads of mission

#	Officeholder	Title	Other offices	Term start date	Term end date	Time in office	Notes
1	George Knowles	High Commissioner		21 August 1946 (1946-08-21)	August 1948 (1948-08)	1 year, 11 months	[4]
2	Alfred Stirling			August 1948 (1948-08)	29 March 1951 (1951-03-29)	2 years, 7 months	[5]
−	John Quinn (Acting)			29 March 1951 (1951-03-29)	22 July 1952 (1952-07-22)	1 year, 115 days	[6]
3	William Hodgson			22 July 1952 (1952-07-22)	3 July 1957 (1957-07-03)	4 years, 346 days	[7]
−	Hugh Gilchrist (Acting)			3 July 1957 (1957-07-03)	7 January 1959 (1959-01-07)	1 year, 188 days	[1]
4	Owen Davis			7 January 1959 (1959-01-07)	31 May 1961 (1961-05-31)	3 years, 7 months	[8]
		Ambassador		31 May 1961 (1961-05-31)	September 1962 (1962-09)
5	Charles Kevin			September 1962 (1962-09)	September 1968 (1968-09)	6 years	[9]
6	Bill Cutts			September 1968 (1968-09)	September 1972 (1972-09)	4 years	[10][11]
7	Colin Moodie		ABC	September 1972 (1972-09)	August 1975 (1975-08)	2 years, 11 months	[12][13][11]
8	David McNicol		ABC	August 1975 (1975-08)	November 1977 (1977-11)	2 years, 3 months	[14][12]
9	Keith Douglas-Scott		ABC	November 1977 (1977-11)	October 1981 (1981-10)	3 years, 11 months	[14]
10	Malcolm Lyon		AB	October 1981 (1981-10)	December 1984 (1984-12)	3 years, 2 months	[15][16][17]
11	Robert Birch		AB	December 1984 (1984-12)	July 1988 (1988-07)	3 years, 7 months	[17]
12	Colin McDonald		AB	July 1988 (1988-07)	August 1992 (1992-08)	4 years, 1 month	[18][19]
13	Ross Burns		AB	August 1992 (1992-08)	1 June 1994 (1994-06-01)	3 years, 2 months	[18][20]
		High Commissioner		1 June 1994 (1994-06-01)	October 1995 (1995-10)
14	Ian Porter		AB	October 1995 (1995-10)	5 May 1998 (1998-05-05)	2 years, 7 months	[20][21]
15	David Connolly		AB	5 May 1998 (1998-05-05)	13 March 2002 (2002-03-13)	3 years, 312 days	[21][22]
16	Ian Wilcock		AB	13 March 2002 (2002-03-13)	10 June 2004 (2004-06-10)	2 years, 89 days	[22][23]
17	Philip Green		ABCDE	10 June 2004 (2004-06-10)	25 November 2008 (2008-11-25)	4 years, 168 days	[23][24]
18	Ann Harrap		ABCDEF	25 November 2008 (2008-11-25)	11 February 2014 (2014-02-11)	5 years, 78 days	[24][25]
19	Graeme Wilson		ABCDEF	11 February 2014 (2014-02-11)	2 September 2014 (2014-09-02)	203 days	[25][26][27]
−	Chris Munn (Acting)		ABCDEF	2 September 2014 (2014-09-02)	1 April 2015 (2015-04-01)	211 days
20	Adam McCarthy		ABCDEF	1 April 2015 (2015-04-01)	2 March 2019 (2019-03-02)	3 years, 335 days	[28]
21	Gita Kamath		ABCDEF	2 March 2019 (2019-03-02)	Incumbent	5 years, 234 days	[29]

Notes

^A Also non-resident high commissioner to Eswatini (Swaziland before 2018), 1973–present.

^B Also non-resident high commissioner to Lesotho, 1973–present.

^C Also non-resident high commissioner to Botswana, 1973–1981, 2004–present.

^D Also non-resident high commissioner to Mozambique, 2004–present.

^E Also non-resident high commissioner to Namibia, 2004–present.

^F Also non-resident ambassador to Angola, 2010–present.

See also

• Australia–South Africa relations
• Foreign relations of Australia
• Foreign relations of South Africa

References

1. CA 7010: Australian Embassy, South Africa [Pretoria], National Archives of Australia, retrieved 22 October 2022
2. "P.M. defines attitude of South Africa: No abrupt change in attitude". The Canberra Times. 26 May 1961. p. 3.
3. "High Commissioner to Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 44 (7): 488. July 1973. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
4. Whitlam, E.G., "Knowles, Sir George Shaw (1882–1947)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 9 March 2014
5. Hearder, Jeremy, "Stirling, Alfred Thorp (1902–1981)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 6 September 2014
6. Fogarty, Mike, "Quinn, John Paul (1919–1961)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 5 February 2016
7. "Australian High Commissioner In S.A. To Retire". The Canberra Times. 3 July 1957. p. 3.
8. "Appointed High Commissioner". The Canberra Times. 27 January 1959. p. 2.
9. "Divorce for New Envoy". The Canberra Times. 27 June 1962. p. 2.
10. "Envoy to S. Africa named". The Canberra Times. 25 May 1968. p. 3.
11. "Foreign Affairs changes". The Canberra Times. 12 June 1972. p. 8.
12. "Post in Pretoria". The Canberra Times. 25 June 1975. p. 8.
13. Farquharson, John, "Moodie, Colin Troup (1913–2000)", Obituaries Australia, Australian National University, archived from the original on 11 January 2015
14. "Australian diplomats appointed". The Canberra Times. 17 September 1977. p. 3.
15. Downer, Alexander (18 October 2007). "Malcolm Lyon OBE" (Press release). Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
16. "Two ambassadors appointed". The Canberra Times. 27 May 1981. p. 3.
17. "Ambassador appointed". The Canberra Times. 17 September 1984. p. 3.
18. "New ambassador to S. Africa named". The Canberra Times. 25 August 1992. p. 4.
19. McMullan, Bob (12 July 1995). "AUSTRALIAN Consul-General in Honolulu" (Press release). Archived from the original on 11 February 2014.
20. Evans, Gareth (28 June 1995). "DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENT: High Commissioner to South Africa" (Press release). Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
21. Downer, Alexander (5 May 1998). "Diplomatic Appointmient: High Commissioner to South Africa" (Press release). Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
22. Downer, Alexander (13 March 2002). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to South Africa" (Press release). Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
23. Downer, Alexander (10 June 2004). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to South Africa" (Press release). Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
24. Smith, Stephen (25 November 2008). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to South Africa" (Press release). Archived from the original on 13 March 2014.
25. Carr, Bob (13 November 2012). "High Commissioner to South Africa" (Press release). Archived from the original on 11 February 2014.
26. "Australia's High Commissioner in South Africa Graeme Wilson has died suddenly after an unexpected illness". Special Broadcasting Service. AAP. 5 September 2014. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014.
27. Thomson, Phillip (5 September 2014). "Diplomat Graeme Wilson mourned as a 'true gentleman'". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014.
28. Bishop, Julie (1 April 2015). "High Commissioner to South Africa" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015.
29. Payne, Marise (2 March 2019). "High Commissioner to South Africa" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 14 March 2020.

External links

• Australian High Commission Pretoria