The viceregal consort of New South Wales is the spouse of the serving governor of New South Wales, assisting the viceroy with ceremonial and charitable work, accompanying him or her to official state occasions, and occasionally undertaking philanthropic work of their own. This individual is addressed as His or Her Excellency while their spouse is in office, and is often made ex officio a Knight or Dame of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.
| Governor | Term start | Term end | Spouse | Born | Died | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Arthur Phillip | 7 February 1788 | 10 December 1792 | Estranged | ||||
| Captain John Hunter | 11 September 1795 | 27 September 1800 | None | ||||
| 28 September 1800 | 12 August 1806 | Anna Josepha King | 1765 | 1844 | Anna Josepha Coombe was King's first cousin. | ||
| Captain William Bligh | 13 August 1806 | 26 January 1808 | Elizabeth Bligh | 1754 | 15 April 1815 | Elizabeth Bligh (née Betham) was the second daughter of Richard Betham LL.D., who was Collector of Customs and Water Bailiff at Douglas on the Isle of Man. | |
| Major-General Lachlan Macquarie | 1 January 1810 | 1 December 1821 | Elizabeth Macquarie | 1778 | 11 March 1835 | Born Elizabeth Henrietta Campbell, she was the youngest daughter of John Campbell of Airds, Scotland and was a distant cousin of Macquarie's. | |
| Sir Thomas Brisbane, Bt. | 1 December 1821 | 1 December 1825 | Anna Marie Makdougall-Brisbane, Lady Brisbane | She was the daughter of Sir Henry Hay-Makdougall, 4th Baronet and Isabella Douglas, who was the daughter of Sir James Douglas, 1st Baronet. | |||
| Sir Ralph Darling | 19 December 1825 | 21 October 1831 | Eliza Darling, Lady Darling | 10 November 1798 | 3 September 1868 | Born Eliza Dumaresq. | |
| Sir Richard Bourke | 3 December 1831 | 5 December 1837 | Elizabeth Jane Bourke, Lady Bourke | 7 May 1832 | Lady Bourke died at Government House, Parramatta, not long after arriving in Sydney. | ||
| Sir George Gipps | 5 October 1837 | 2 August 1846 | Elizabeth Gipps, Lady Gipps | 1805 | 11 July 1874 | Born Elizabeth Ramsay. | |
| Sir Charles FitzRoy | 3 August 1846 | 28 January 1855 | Mary FitzRoy, Lady FitzRoy | 1792 | 7 December 1847 | Lady FitzRoy (née Lennox) was the daughter of Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond and Charlotte Lennox, Duchess of Richmond. | |
| Sir William Denison | 20 January 1855 | 22 January 1861 | Caroline Denison, Lady Denison | 1899 | Lady Denison (née Hornby) was the daughter of Sir Phipps Hornby and was appointed to the Order of the Crown of India (CI) in 1878 for her and her husband's services in Madras. | ||
| Sir John Young, Bt. | 16 May 1861 | 24 December 1867 | Adelaide Young, Lady Young | 19 July 1895 | Lady Adelaide Annabella Tuite Young (née Dalton) later became Baroness Lisgar. Was the daughter of the Marchioness of Headfort by her first marriage. | ||
| 4th Earl Belmore | 8 January 1868 | 21 February 1872 | Anne Lowry-Corry, Countess Belmore | 22 December 1841 | 5 October 1919 | Anne Elizabeth Honoria Lowry-Corry (née Gladstone) was the daughter of John Neilson Gladstone and the niece of William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. | |
| Sir Hercules Robinson | 3 June 1872 | 19 March 1879 | Nea Robinson, Lady Robinson | 13 January 1904 | Lady Robinson was born The Hon. Nea Arthur Ada Rose d'Amour Annesley, fifth daughter of the tenth Viscount Valentia in 1846. Lady Robinson (later to become Baroness Rosmead) was described as "a majestic-looking woman", "fond of gaiety and society".[1] | ||
| Lord Augustus Loftus | 4 August 1879 | 9 November 1885 | Emma Loftus, Lady Loftus | 1 January 1902 | Born Emma Maria Greville. | ||
| 3rd Baron Carrington | 12 December 1885 | 3 November 1890 | Cecilia Carington, Baroness Carrington | 15 June 1856 | 6 October 1934 | Born The Hon. Cecilia Margaret Harbord, daughter of the 5th Baron Suffield. Became Countess Carrington (1895) and Marchioness of Lincolnshire (1912). The Sydney suburb of Harbord was named after her. | |
| 7th Earl of Jersey | 15 January 1891 | 2 March 1893 | Margaret Child-Villiers, Countess of Jersey | 29 October 1849 | 22 May 1945 | Born Hon. Margaret Elizabeth Leigh, daughter of 2nd Baron Leigh. The Countess of Jersey was the founding president of the Victoria League and was known as an opponent of women's suffrage. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1927. | |
| Sir Robert Duff | 29 May 1893 | 15 March 1895 | Louisa Duff, Lady Duff | 1846 | 18 January 1924 | Born Louisa Scott, the daughter of Sir William Scott, 6th Baronet. | |
| 2nd Viscount Hampden | 21 November 1895 | 5 March 1899 | Susan Brand, Viscountess Hampden | 29 July 1846 | 16 October 1909 | Born Susan Henrietta Cavendish, was the daughter of Lord George Cavendish. | |
| 7th Earl Beauchamp | 18 May 1899 | 30 April 1901 | Lettice Lygon, Countess Beauchamp | 25 December 1876 | 28 July 1936 | Born Lady Lettice Mary Elizabeth Grosvenor, daughter of Victor Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor and granddaughter of Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster. | |
| Admiral Sir Harry Rawson | 27 May 1902 | 27 May 1909 | Florence Rawson, Lady Rawson | 12 December 1905 | Born Florence Alice Stewart Shaw. | ||
| 1st Viscount Chelmsford | 28 May 1909 | 11 March 1913 | Frances Thesiger, Baroness Chelmsford | 22 March 1869 | 24 September 1957 | Born the Hon. Frances Charlotte Guest, daughter of Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne, and Lady Cornelia Henrietta Maria Spencer-Churchill. Was made a Dame Grand Cross, Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1917 and was also invested with the Imperial Order of the Crown of India (CI). | |
| Sir 1st Baron Strickland | 14 March 1913 | 27 October 1917 | Edeline Strickland, Lady Strickland, Contessa della Catena | 10 September 1870 | 15 December 1918 | Born Lady Edeline Sackville, daughter of the 7th Earl De La Warr and the Hon. Constance Mary Elizabeth Cochrane-Wishart-Baillie, daughter of Lord Lamington. She was invested as a Lady of Justice of Order of St. John of Jerusalem (LJStJ). | |
| Sir Walter Davidson | 18 February 1918 | 4 September 1923 | Margaret Davidson, Lady Davidson | 21 April 1871 | 14 October 1964 | Born Margaret Agnes Feilding, she was the daughter of General Hon. Sir Percy Robert Basil Feilding. In 1918 she was named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her work with the Red Cross Society and the Scouting and Girl Guides in New South Wales. Also a Dame of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (DStJ). | |
| Admiral Sir Dudley de Chair | 28 February 1924 | 7 April 1930 | Enid de Chair, Lady de Chair | 1878 | 1965 | Born Enid Struben, was an Artist and art patron. Her patronage of NSW modern art "puts her among its earliest supporters in Australia".[2] | |
| Air Vice-Marshal Sir Philip Game | 29 May 1930 | 15 January 1935 | Gwendolen Game, Lady Game | 1972 | Born Gwendolen Margaret Hughes-Gibb. | ||
| 1st Baron Gowrie | 21 February 1935 | 22 January 1936 | Zara Hore-Ruthven, Baroness Gowrie | 20 January 1879 | 19 July 1965 | Lady Gowrie was involved in the provision of child care, and the Lady Gowrie Child Centres were named in her honour. She later became Countess of Gowrie. From the 1930s she was instrumental in advancing the career of the opera singer Dame Joan Hammond, whose final public performance was at Lady Gowrie's funeral. | |
| Admiral Sir David Murray Anderson | 6 August 1936 | 30 October 1936 | Edith Anderson, Lady Anderson | 1883 | 5 September 1958 | Born Edith Muriel Teschemaker in New Zealand. Lady Anderson carried out many of her husband's duties while he was seriously ill leading up to his premature death in office. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) on 11 May 1937, on the recommendation of the Premier, for public service in New South Wales.[3] [4] | |
| 2nd Baron Wakehurst | 8 April 1937 | 8 January 1946 | Margaret Loder, Baroness Wakehurst | 4 November 1899 | 19 August 1994 | Born Margaret Tennant, the daughter of prominent Liberal politician and businessman, Sir Charles Tennant, 1st Baronet and her half-sister was Margot Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith. Lady Wakehurst was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1965. She was also a Dame of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (DStJ) from 1960 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Queen's University, Belfast (1957).[5] | |
| Lieutenant General Sir John Northcott | 1 August 1946 | 31 July 1957 | Winifred Northcott, Lady Northcott | 15 August 1974 | Born Winifred Mary Paton. | ||
| Lieutenant General Sir Eric Woodward | 1 August 1957 | 1 August 1965 | Amy Woodward, Lady Woodward | 1904 | 1984 | Born Amy Weller. | |
| Sir Roden Cutler | 20 January 1966 | 19 January 1981 | Helen Cutler, Lady Cutler AC | 5 May 1923 | 8 November 1990 | Born Helen Gray Annetta Morris, Lady Cutler was educated at Sydney Church of England Girls' Grammar School and served with the Australian Women's Army Service from 1942 to 1946. Made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1980 and had previously been awarded Dame of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (1977) and Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (1965). | |
| Air Marshal Sir James Rowland | 20 January 1981 | 20 January 1989 | Faye Rowland, Lady Rowland | 16 December 2011 | Born Faye Alison Doughton. | ||
| Rear Admiral Sir David Martin | 21 January 1989 | 7 August 1990 | Suzanne Martin, Lady Martin | Living | Born Suzanne Millear, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Queen's Birthday 2011 Honours for service to youth through the Sir David Martin Foundation. | ||
| Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair | 8 August 1990 | 29 February 1996 | Shirley Sinclair | Living | Born Shirley McLellan, awarded a Dame of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (DStJ). | ||
| Hon. Gordon Samuels | 1 March 1996 | 28 February 2001 | Jacqueline Samuels | 8 September 1927 | Living | Born Jacqueline Kott, Jacqueline Samuels had a long career as an actor and was a member of the board of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (1976–1985). In 1994 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of the University of New South Wales in honour of her service to the university, as well as having the new "Samuels Building" jointly named after her.[6] | |
| Dame Marie Bashir | 1 March 2001 | 1 October 2014 | Sir Nicholas Shehadie AC, OBE | 15 November 1926 | 11 February 2018 | Shehadie was a former Lord Mayor of Sydney (1973–1975) and a former national representative rugby union captain, who made thirty career Test appearances (1947–1958). He was an inductee into both the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame and the IRB Hall of Fame. | |
| General David Hurley | 2 October 2014 | 1 May 2019 | Linda Hurley | Living | Born Linda McMartin. | ||
| Margaret Beazley | 2 May 2019 | Incumbent | Dennis Wilson | Living |