A HISTORY OF HONOURS IN AUSTRALIA – By Harry de Sayrah OAM J.P ( Life Member of the Order of Australia Association)
Each year of Australia Day and Queen’s Birthday come the announcements of the latest appointments to the Order of Australia
Since the Order of Australia was created in February 1975 new awards have been announced on Australia Day in January and on the Queen’s Birthday in June but the tradition of a January honours listed has existed since much earlier. Before 1975 Australians were eligible for British honours which were announced each January and June at New Year and on the King’s or Queen’s official Birthday
The number of Australians honoured increased considerably in the 20th Century after the Order of the British Empire (OBE) was created in 1917 as an instrument for rewarding many people who had contributed to the War effort during WW1. Importantly the new order allowed women to be members
In 1957 Pastor Doug Nicholls was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) perhaps the first appointment of an Indigenous Australian to the Order. Nicholls was later elevated to OBE and in 1972 was the first Aboriginal person appointed Governor of an Australian State
Another longstanding issue in the history of Honours in Australia as in other former British Dominions in Australia was the creation of a unique National award to replace the Imperial one such as OBE
It was’nt until 1975 that the National Honours System took shape. Its key component was the Order of Australia modelled on the Order of Canada (OC) with 3 grades Companion Officer and Member
In the years that followed a dual system operated some States and Federal Governments
Making use of British Honours and others preferring the Australian Awards
After no recommendations were made in 1990 The Queen suggested that Australia abandon Imperial Honours in favour of the Order of Australia. The last list of Imperial Honours were announced in January and June of 1989 although Australians are still eligible for a small number of British Honours which are in the Queen’s personal gift such as the Order of Merit and The Royal Victorian Order
In 2014 another chapter in the history of the Australian Honours system opened. On March 25th the Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the reinstatement of Knighthoods and Damehoods in the Order of Australia – for many people the announcement was unexpected as they opposed the introduction – This chapter has been abandoned since
However it has been restored in New Zealand in 2009
