Australian Dictionary of Biography

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Life Summary

Name	Sir John Robert Kerr
Born	24 September, 1914 Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died	24 March, 1991 (aged 76) Kirribilli, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Related Entries	[View as tree] Kerr, Anne Dorothy (wife) McClelland, James Robert (friend) Leeson, Ida Emily (work colleague) Byers, Maurice Hearne (work colleague) Bowen, Nigel Hubert (colleague) Casey, Richard Gardiner (acquaintance) Hasluck, Paul Meernaa (acquaintance) Connor, Reginald Francis (acquaintance) Barnard, Lance Herbert (acquaintance) Conlon, Alfred Austin (senior officer) Game, Philip Woolcott (influence) Lang, John Thomas (influence) Evatt, Herbert Vere (influence) Askin, Robert William (influence) Holt, Harold Edward (influence) Whitlam, Edward Gough (political adversary) Scholes, Gordon Glen (political adversary) Daly, Frederick Michael (related entry) Harders, Clarence Waldemar (related entry)
Education *	Fort Street Boys' High School (Sydney) (student, ?-1931) Rozelle Junior Technical (Sydney) (student) University of Sydney (student, 1932-1936)
Occupation or Descriptor *	barrister (1938-1942) New South Wales, Australia army officer (1943-1946) Federal, Australia public servant (1946-1949) Federal, Australia barrister (1949-1966) New South Wales, Australia judge (1966-1972) Federal, Australia chief justice (1972-1974) New South Wales, Australia lieutenant-governor (1972-1974) New South Wales, Australia governor-general (1974-1977) Federal, Australia
Military Service *	World War II (army officer)
Awards	Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (recipient, 1966) Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (recipient, 1974) Companion of the Order of Australia (recipient, 1975) Knight of the Order of Australia (recipient, 1976) Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (recipient, 1976) Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (recipient, 1977)
Key Events *	Dismissal of Whitlam government, 1975 (governor-general)
Key Organisations *	Australian Association for Cultural Freedom (board member) Industrial Relations Society (NSW) (president, 1960-1963) Relationships Australia (NSW) (president, 1961-1962) New South Wales Bar Association (president, 1963-1964) Council on New Guinea Affairs (board member, 1964-1971) Law Council of Australia (president, 1965-1966) Law Association for Asia and the Western Pacific (president, 1966-1970)
Political Activism *	ALP (NSW) (member, 1948-1960)
Workplaces *	Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs (army officer, 1942-1945) Australian School of Pacific Administration (head, 1946-1949) Commonwealth Industrial Court (judge, 1966-1972) Supreme Court of ACT (judge, 1966-1972) Supreme Court of NT (judge, 1970-1972) Supreme Court of NSW (chief justice, 1972-1974)

* Dates are approximate