Australian Consul-General in Hong Kong and Macao | |
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Incumbent Elizabeth Ward since 4 October 2020 | |
Style | His Excellency |
Residence | Hong Kong |
Appointer | Governor General of Australia |
Inaugural holder | Reginald Hazzard (Trade Commissioner) |
Formation | 1946 |
Website | Australian Consulate-General, Hong Kong and Macau |
Consulate General of Australia, Hong Kong | |||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 澳洲駐香港及澳門總領事館 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 澳洲驻香港及澳门总领事馆 | ||||||||||||
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The Australian Consulate-General in Hong Kong and Macao represents the Commonwealth of Australia in Hong Kong, and is also accredited to Macau. As Hong Kong was linked to the Commonwealth during British administration, Australia's diplomatic presence was exercised by an Australian Commission, until 1 January 1986, when it was renamed the Australian Consulate-General.[1] From 1946 to 1972, Australia was represented by the Australian Trade Commission.
Due to Hong Kong and Macau having the status of Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China, the Australian Consulate-General in Hong Kong reports directly to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in Canberra, Australia, rather than to or through the Australian Embassy in Beijing.
The Consulate-General is located on the 23rd floor of Harbour Centre (海港中心) in Wan Chai.[2]
History
An Australian Trade Commission in Hong Kong was originally signposted by the Australian Government of Joseph Lyons in the early 1930s. On 30 August 1933 the Minister for Commerce, Frederick Stewart, secured Cabinet approval for the establishment of several Trade Commissions in the East, with Batavia and Hong Kong being the most likely locations.[3] However a decision to appoint a commissioner was delayed pending the report of Attorney General and Minister for External Affairs John Latham's fact-finding mission to the Far East, which found a dire need for Australian trade representative to improve mercantile connections in the region.[4] While in Hong Kong, Latham was impressed by the representations from the Australian community there of "the wretched lack of co-ordination in the shipping services from Australia."[5]
However, the Trade Commission was not established until 1946. This served to represent Australian interests in Hong Kong in the absence of a formal diplomatic post.[6] However, the Department of External Affairs had offices within the Trade Commission.[7]
In 1972, the Trade Commission was upgraded and renamed the Australian Commission,[8] which allowed the office to undertake various semi-diplomatic and consular functions. This change meant that the Commission was no longer under the purview of the Department of Trade and Industry and was now the responsibility of the Department of Foreign Affairs.[9]
From 1 January 1986, the Commission was renamed the Consulate-General, bringing it into line with other Australian missions elsewhere, with Penny Wensley as the first Consul-General.[10][1] By contrast, other Commonwealth countries, such as Singapore, continued to style their missions Commissions until the transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997.[11]
In August 1996, prior to the transfer of sovereignty, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, and Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, signed an agreement on the continuation of Australia's presence in Hong Kong in the form of a Consulate-General after 1 July 1997.[12][13]
In February 2020, Deputy Consul General Ryan Neelam was made the acting Consul General.
In October 2020, Elizabeth Ward was announced as Australia's new Consul-General to Hong Kong and Macau following visa delays, which was attributed to political tensions between Australia and China.[14] The official residence of the Consul-General at Deep Water Bay was burgled, however nothing was reportedly stolen.[15]
Office-holders
Trade Commissioners, 1946–1972
Name | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
Reginald Hazzard | 1946 | 1949 | |
Hugh Wrigley | 1949 | 1952 | |
Harry Menzies | 1953 | 1956 | [16][17] |
George Patterson | 1957 | 1960 | |
John Allgrove | 1966 | ||
P. R. Searcy | October 1970 | ||
R. Barcham | October 1970 | March 1972 | [18] |
Senior Trade Commissioners, 2007–present
Name | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
Phil Ingram | 2007 | 2013 | |
Dan Tebbut | 2013 | 2015 | |
Sam Guthrie | 2016 | ||
Commissioners
Name | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
R. Barcham | 1 March 1972 | 10 May 1972 | |
Ivor Gordon Bowden | 10 May 1972 | 27 June 1974 | |
H. D. White | 27 June 1974 | 26 November 1976 | |
Ian Haig | 26 November 1976 | 21 April 1979 | |
Ian Nicholson | 21 April 1979 | 3 June 1982 | |
Donald Horne | 3 June 1982 | 1986 | [19] |
Consuls-General
Name | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
Penny Wensley | 1986 | 1989 | [20] |
Geoff Bentley | 1989 | 1992 | [21] |
Jocelyn Chey | 1992 | 1995 | [22] |
Geoff Walsh | 1995 | June 1998 | [23] |
Susan Boyd | June 1998 | July 1999 | [24] |
Bill Tweddell | July 1999 | January 2002 | [25] |
David O'Leary | January 2002 | January 2005 | [26] |
Murray Cobban | January 2005 | April 2008 | [27] |
Les Luck | April 2008 | October 2011 | [28] |
Paul Tighe | October 2011 | 3 April 2017 | [29] |
Michaela Browning | 3 April 2017 | 25 February 2020 | [30][31] |
Ryan Neelam (Acting) | 25 February 2020 | 4 October 2020 | [32] |
Elizabeth Ward | 4 October 2020 | Present | [31] |
See also
References
- 1 2 Australian Foreign Affairs Record, Volume 56, Issues 7-12, Australian Government Public Service, 1985, page 1153
- ↑ Home. Australian Consulate-General Hong Kong. Retrieved on 18 May 2019. "23/F Harbour Centre 25 Harbour Road Wanchai Hong Kong SAR" - Address in Traditional Chinese: "香港灣仔港灣道25號海港中心23樓"
- ↑ Schevdin, Boris (2008). Emissaries of trade : a history of the Australian Trade Commissioner Service. Barton, ACT: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. p. 47.
- ↑ Schevdin, Boris, pp. 50-51.
- ↑ "THE GOOD-WILL MISSION". The Age. Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 26 April 1934. p. 10. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ↑ The Evolution of Australian Foreign Policy 1938-1965, Alan Watt CUP Archive, 1967, page 294
- ↑ Annual Report, Department of External Affairs, 1967, page 2
- ↑ CA 8944: Australian Commission, Hong Kong, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 27 February 2016
- ↑ "Mission to be upgraded". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 1 March 1972. p. 1. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ↑ CA 8945: Australian Consulate-General, Hong Kong (British Crown Colony), National Archives of Australia, retrieved 27 February 2016
- ↑ About the Consulate-General
- ↑ Downer, Alexander (22 August 1996). "AUSTRALIA AND CHINA AGREE ON AUSTRALIAN CONSULATE-GENERAL IN HONG KONG AFTER JULY 1, 1997". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived from the original (Media Release) on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ↑ CA 8946: Australian Consulate-General, Hong Kong (China), National Archives of Australia, retrieved 27 February 2016
- ↑ "Hong Kong delays visa approval for top Australian diplomat". Australian Financial Review. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ↑ "Australian consul general's official Hong Kong residence burgled, ransacked". South China Morning Post. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ↑ "APPOINTMENT TO HONG KONG". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 15 August 1953. p. 3. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ↑ "Transfer for P.M.'s Cousin". The Age. Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 11 October 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ↑ "IN BRIEF". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 5 October 1970. p. 3. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ↑ "Hong Kong post". The Canberra Times. ACT. 14 May 1982. p. 3.
- ↑ "Diplomat Appointed". The Canberra Times. ACT. 28 November 1985. p. 18.
- ↑ "Consul-general for Hong Kong". The Canberra Times. ACT. 13 March 1989. p. 3.
- ↑ Cook, Beryl (1 August 1994). "Asia needs a true Australian image". The Canberra Times. ACT. p. 9.
- ↑ Bilney, Gordon (25 May 1995). "DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENT: Consul-General in Hong Kong" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
- ↑ Downer, Alexander (2 April 1998). "DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENT: CONSUL-GENERAL IN HONG KONG" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
- ↑ Downer, Alexander (15 June 1999). "Diplomatic Appointment: Consul-General In Hong Kong" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
- ↑ Downer, Alexander (18 September 2001). "Diplomatic Appointment: Consul-General in Hong Kong" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
- ↑ Downer, Alexander (23 August 2004). "Diplomatic Appointment: Consul-General In Hong Kong" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
- ↑ Smith, Stephen (8 February 2008). "Diplomatic Appointment: Consul-General in Hong Kong" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015.
- ↑ Emerson, Craig (26 August 2011). "Diplomatic appointment - Consul-General in Hong Kong" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015.
- ↑ Bishop, Julie. "Consul-General in Hong Kong". Minister for Foreign Affairs. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived from the original (Media Release) on 4 June 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- 1 2 Hong Kong delays visa approval for top Australian diplomat
- ↑ "Former Hong Kong-Australia free trade negotiator named top envoy to city". South China Morning Post. 4 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.