English is the primary language spoken throughout Australia.

Australian English (AusE, AuE, AusEng, en-AU^[1]) is a major variety of the English language and is used throughout Australia. Despite English being given no official status in the Constitution, Australian English is Australia's de facto official language and is the first language of the majority of the population.

Australian English started diverging from British English after the founding of the colony of New South Wales in 1788 and was recognised as being different from British English by 1820. It arose from the intermingling of children of early settlers from a great variety of mutually intelligible dialectal regions of the British Isles and quickly developed into a distinct variety of English.^[2]

Origins[link]

Australian English began its development after the landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove.

The earliest form of Australian English was first spoken by the children of the colonists born into the colony of New South Wales. This very first generation of children created a new dialect that was to become the language of the nation. The Australian-born children in the new colony were exposed to a wide range of different dialects from all over the British Isles, in particular from Ireland and South East England.^[3]

The native-born children of the colony created the new dialect from factors present in the speech they heard around them, and provided an avenue for the expression of peer solidarity. Even when new settlers arrived, this new dialect was strong enough to deflect the influence of other patterns of speech.

A large part of the convict body were the Irish, 25% of the total convict population. Many of these were arrested in Ireland, and some in the UK. It is possible that the majority of Irish convicts either did not speak English, or spoke English "indifferently". There were other significant populations of convicts from non-English speaking areas of Britain, such as the Scottish Highlands and Wales.

Records from the early 19th century survive to this day describing the distinct dialect that had surfaced in the colonies since first settlement in 1788,^[2] with Peter Miller Cunningham's 1827 book Two Years in New South Wales, describing the distinctive accent and vocabulary of the native born colonists, different from that of their parents and with a strong London influence.^[3]

Influences[link]

The Australian gold rushes saw many external influences adopted into the language.

The first of the Australian gold rushes, in the 1850s, began a large wave of immigration, with approximately two per cent of the population of the United Kingdom emigrating to the colonies of New South Wales and Victoria.^[4]

This great influx of immigrants caused the integration of numerous new patterns into the local speech. By this time several words of Irish origin had been adopted into the language (some of which are also common elsewhere in the Irish diaspora), such as tucker for "food", "provisions" (from Irish tacar: "support, provisions"), goog / googy "egg" (Gaelic gog / gug "cluck", "egg" [baby-talk]), chook "chicken" (Gaelic tsiug / tsiuc / tsiucaí / tsiugaí "come!" [call to chickens], "chicken" [baby-talk]), duffer "rustler" (Gaelic dubhfhear "dark(-haired) man, highwayman, man involved in "dark" deeds), bum "bottom (of person)" (Gaelic bun "bottom, base"), galoot "fool, idiot" (Gaelic galltuata "foreign simpleton"), sheila "young woman, woman" (Gaelic síle "tomboy / mannish woman, effeminate man" - an idiomatic use of Síle "Sheila"), gob "mouth" (Gaelic gob "beak, pointy nose"), puss "face" (Gaelic pus "mouth"), slog (of whiskey) (Gaelic slog "swallow"), blob (Gaelic blab), slob (Gaelic slab "slime, mud, goo"), hooligan (from the Gaelic family name Ó hUallacháin, from uallachán "howler, rowdy person, rioter"), gab (Gaelic geab [a slang word] "speak, say"), and cack / cacky / kicky "excreta" (baby-talk) (Gaelic cac "excreta", cacaí / caicí "excreta" [baby-talk]). Moreover, the meaning of one or two native English words may have changed under Gaelic influence, such as paddock for "field", cf. Irish páirc "field".

Some elements of Aboriginal languages have been adopted by Australian English—mainly as names for places, flora and fauna (for example dingo) and local culture. Many such are localised, and do not form part of general Australian use, while others, such as kangaroo, boomerang, budgerigar, wallaby and so on have become international. Other examples are cooee and hard yakka. The former is used as a high-pitched call, for attracting attention, (pronounced /kʉː.iː/) which travels long distances. Cooee is also a notional distance: if he's within cooee, we'll spot him. Hard yakka means hard work and is derived from yakka, from the Jagera/Yagara language once spoken in the Brisbane region.

Also from there is the word bung, from the Sydney pidgin English (and ultimately from the Sydney Aboriginal language), meaning "dead", with some extension to "broken" or "useless". Many towns or suburbs of Australia have also been influenced or named after Aboriginal words. The most well known example is the capital, Canberra named after a local language word meaning "meeting place".

Among the changes starting in the 19th century gold rushes was the introduction of words, spellings, terms and usages from North American English. The words imported included some later considered to be typically Australian, such as bonzer.^[5] This continued with the influx of American military personnel in World War II as well as film; seen in the enduring persistence of okay, you guys and gee.^[5] The American influence through film has led to the localised adoption of terms such as bronco for the native brumby meaning wild horse, and cowboy for the native drover and stockman for a cattle or sheep herder, though such words are still overtly felt to be "Americanisms".

Where British and American vocabulary differs, Australians sometimes favour an Australian usage as in capsicum, also used in India (for US bell pepper, UK red or green pepper), sometimes shares a term with America, as with eggplant for UK aubergine, and sometimes shares the British usage, such as mobile phone for US cell phone.

Phonology[link]

Australian English is a non-rhotic dialect that is distinctive from other varieties of English. It shares most similarity with other Southern Hemisphere accents, in particular New Zealand English.^[6] Like most dialects of English it is distinguished primarily by its vowel phonology.^[7]

Vowels[link]

Australian English monophthongs^[8]

Australian English diphthongs^[9]

The vowels of Australian English can be divided according to length. The long vowels, which include monophthongs and diphthongs, mostly correspond to the tense vowels used in analyses of Received Pronunciation (RP) as well as its centring diphthongs. The short vowels, consisting only of monophthongs, correspond to the RP lax vowels. There exist pairs of long and short vowels with overlapping vowel quality giving Australian English phonemic length distinction, which is unusual amongst the various dialects of English, though not unknown elsewhere, such as in regional south-eastern dialects of the UK and eastern seaboard dialects in the US.^[10]

Consonants[link]

There is little variation with respect to the sets of consonants used in various English dialects. There are, however, variations in how these consonants are used. Australian English is no exception.

Australian English is non-rhotic; in other words, the /r/ sound does not appear at the end of a syllable or immediately before a consonant. However, a linking /r/ can occur when a word that has a final <r> in the spelling comes before another word that starts with a vowel. An intrusive /r/ may similarly be inserted before a vowel in words that do not have <r> in the spelling in certain environments, namely after the long vowel /o:/ and after word final /ə/.

There is some degree of allophonic variation in the alveolar stops. Intervocalic /t/, but not /d/, undergoes voicing and flapping to the alveolar tap [ɾ] after the stressed syllable and before unstressed vowels and syllabic /l/, though not before syllabic /n/, as well as at the end of a word or morpheme before any vowel in the same breath group. For some speakers /t/ in final or in medial position is glottalised to [ʔ]. For many speakers, /t/ and /d/ in the combinations /tr/-/tw/ and /dr/-/dw/ are also palatalised, thus /tʃr/-/tʃw/ and /dʒr/-/tʃw/, as Australian /r/ is only very slightly retroflex, the tip remaining below the level of the bottom teeth in the same position as for /w/; it is also somewhat rounded ("to say 'r' the way Australians do you need to say 'w' at the same time"), where older English /wr/ and /r/ have fallen together as /ʷr/.

Yod-dropping occurs after /r/ and word initially after /l/, /s/ and /z/. Other cases of /sj/ and /zj/, along with /tj/ and /dj/, have coalesed to /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ respectively for many speakers. /j/ is generally retained in other consonant clusters.

Variation[link]

Academic studies have shown that there are limited regional variations in Australian English; the most notable variation is sociocultural. Some Australians speak English-based creole languages such as the Australian Kriol language, Torres Strait Creole and Norfuk language.

Sociocultural variation[link]

According to linguists, Australian English can be divided into three main varieties: broad, general and cultivated.^[12] These accents form a continuum that reflects the variations in the Australian accent. They can reflect the social class, education and urban or rural background of speakers, though this cannot be relied on.^[13]

Australian Aboriginal English is made up of a range of forms which developed differently in different parts of Australia, and are said to vary along a continuum, from forms close to Standard Australian English to more non-standard forms. There are distinctive features of accent, grammar, words and meanings, as well as language use.

The ethnocultural dialects are diverse accents in Australian English that are spoken by the minority groups, which are of non-English speaking background.^[14] A massive immigration from Asia has made a large increase in diversity and the will for people to show their cultural identity within the Australian context.^[15] These ethnocultural varieties contain features of General Australian English as adopted by the children of immigrants blended with some non-English language features, such as the Afro-Asiatic and Asian languages.

Regional variation[link]

Although relatively homogeneous, some regional variations in Australian English are notable. The dialects of English spoken in the south east of Australia, where majority of the population lives, differs somewhat to that spoken in South Australia, Western Australia and Torres Strait islands. Differences in terms of vocabulary and phonology exist.

Most regional differences come down to word usage. For example, swimming clothes are known as cossies or swimmers in New South Wales, togs in Queensland, and bathers in Victoria and South Australia. The word footy generally refers to the most popular football code in the particular state or territory; that is, rugby league in New South Wales and Queensland, and Australian rules football elsewhere. Beer glasses are also named differently in different states. Distinctive grammatical patterns exist such as the use of the interrogative eh? and the position of the word but at the end of a sentence in Queensland ("But I don't like him" becomes "I don't like him but").

There are some notable regional variations in the pronunciations of certain words. The extent to which the trap‑bath split has taken hold is one example. This phonological development is more advanced in South Australia, which had a different settlement chronology and type than other parts of the country.^{[citation needed]} L-vocalisation is also more common in South Australia than other states. In Western Australian English the vowels in near and square are typically realised as centring diphthongs, whereas in the eastern states they may also be realised as monophthongs.^[16] A feature common in Victorian English is salary–celery merger, while in Queensland there is a merger of warrior and worrier, both being pronounced /wariə/-/waria/. There is also regional variation in /uː/ before /l/.

Vocabulary[link]

Bush poets such as Banjo Paterson captured the Australian vocabulary of the 19th century in their bush ballads.

Australian English has many words and idioms which are unique to the dialect and have been written on extensively, with the Macquarie Dictionary, widely regarded as the national standard, incorporating numerous Australian terms.

Internationally well-known examples of Australian terminology include outback, meaning a remote, sparsely populated area, the bush, meaning either a native forest or a country area in general, and g'day, a greeting. Dinkum, or fair dinkum means "true", or "is that true?", among other things, depending on context and inflection.^[17] The derivative dinky-di means 'true' or devoted: a 'dinky-di Aussie' is a 'true Australian'.

Australian poetry, such as The Man from Snowy River, and folk songs, such as Waltzing Matilda, contain many historical Australian words and phrases that are understood by Australians even though some are not in common usage today.

Australian English, in common with several British English dialects (for example, Cockney, Scouse, Glaswegian and Geordie) use the word mate. Many words used by Australians were at one time used in England but have since fallen out of usage or changed in meaning.

For example, creek in Australia, as in North America, means a stream or small river, whereas in the UK it means a small watercourse flowing into the sea; paddock in Australia means field, whereas in the UK it means a small enclosure for livestock; bush or scrub in Australia, as in North America, means a wooded area, whereas in England they are commonly used only in proper names (such as Shepherd's Bush and Wormwood Scrubs).

Litotes, such as "not bad", "not much" and "you're not wrong", are also used, as are diminutives, which are commonly used and are often used to indicate familiarity. Some common examples are arvo (afternoon), barbie (barbecue), smoko (cigarette break), Aussie (Australian) and pressie (present/gift). This may also be done with people's names to create nicknames (other English speaking countries create similar diminutives). For example, "Gazza" from Gary, or "Smitty" from John Smith. The use of the suffix -o originates in Irish Gaelic (Irish ó), which is both a postclitic and a suffix with much the same meaning as in Australian English.

In informal speech, incomplete comparisons are sometimes used, such as "sweet as". "Full", "fully" or "heaps" may precede a word to act as an intensifier. This was more common in regional Australia and South Australia but has been in common usage in urban Australia for decades. The suffix "-ly" is sometimes omitted in broader Australian English. For instance "real good" in lieu of "really good."

Spelling and grammar[link]

As in most English speaking countries, there is no official governmental regulator or overseer of correct spelling and grammar. The Macquarie Dictionary is used by universities and other organisations as a standard for Australian English spelling. The Style Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers is the most prominent style guide, serving as the standard for Australian governments.^[18]

Australian spelling is similar to British spelling. As in British spelling, the "u" is retained in words such as honour and favour, and "re" is preferred over "er" in words such as theatre and for metric units such as metre, litre. The "-ise" ending is used in words such as organise and realise, although "-ize" also exists, but is far less common. Words spelled differently from British spelling, according to the Macquarie Dictionary include "program" as opposed to "programme", "jail" as opposed to "gaol", "medieval" as opposed to "mediaeval", "encyclopedia" as opposed to "encyclopaedia", and "analog" as opposed to "analogue" when used in a technical or electronic sense.^[19] Both "acknowledgment" and "acknowledgement", as well as "abridgment" and "abridgement" are used, with the shorter forms being endorsed by Australian governments.^[19][20] In addition to these words, the dictionary also notes an increased tendency within Australia to replace the 'ae' in words such as "palaeontology" and "faeces", and the 'oe' in words such as "foetus" and "diarrhoea" with 'e', as with American practice.^[19] Single quotation marks with logical punctuation and unspaced em-dashes are preferred, and the DD/MM/YYYY date format is used.

Different spellings have existed throughout Australia's history. A pamphlet entitled The So-Called "American Spelling", published in Sydney some time in the 19th century, argued that "there is no valid etymological reason for the preservation of the u in such words as honor, labor, etc."^[21] The pamphlet also claimed that "the tendency of people in Australasia is to excise the u, and one of the Sydney morning papers habitually does this, while the other generally follows the older form."

This influence can be seen in the spelling of the Australian Labor Party, spelt without a "u", with the atypical American spelling that was more common at the time of its formation in 1912. For a short time during the late 20th Century, Harry Lindgren's 1969 spelling reform proposal (Spelling Reform 1 or SR1) was popular in Australia and was adopted by the Australian government.^{[citation needed]} SR1 calls for the short /e/ sound (as in bet) to be spelt with E (for example friend→frend, head→hed). Many general interest paperbacks were printed in SR1.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

	Australia portal
	Language portal

• Australian English phonology
• Australian English vocabulary
• Australian Aboriginal English
• Australian Kriol language
• Strine
• New Zealand English
• IPA chart for English dialects

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Look up Appendix:Australian English vocabulary in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Australian National Dictionary Centre
  • Ozwords—free newsletter from the Australian National Dictionary Centre, which includes articles on Australian English
• The Australian National Dictionary Online
• Australian Word Map at the ABC—documents regionalisms
• R. Mannell, F. Cox and J. Harrington (2009), An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology, Macquarie University
• Macquarie Dictionary
• Aussie English for beginners—the origins, meanings and a quiz to test your knowledge at the National Museum of Australia.

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Her Excellency Quentin Bryce AC CVO
25th Governor-General of Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 September 2008
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Michael Jeffery
24th Governor of Queensland
In office 29 July 2003 – 29 July 2008
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Premier	Peter Beattie Anna Bligh
Preceded by	Peter Arnison
Succeeded by	Penelope Wensley
Personal details
Born	(1942-12-23) 23 December 1942 (age 69) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Spouse(s)	Michael Bryce
Alma mater	University of Queensland
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Website	Official website

Quentin Bryce, AC, CVO (born 23 December 1942) is the 25th and current Governor-General of Australia (the first woman to hold the position) and former Governor of Queensland.^[1]

Born in Brisbane, Queensland as Quentin Alice Louise Strachan, she spent her first years in Ilfracombe, with her family subsequently living in a number of country towns around Australia. She attended the University of Queensland, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, becoming one of the first women accepted to the Queensland bar.

In 1968 she became the first woman to be a faculty member of the law school where she had studied, and in 1978 she joined the new National Women's Advisory Council. This was followed by a number of positions, including the first director of the Queensland Women's Information Service, the Queensland director of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and the Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner in 1988. Her services to the community saw her appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988, and a Companion of the Order of Australia and Dame of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in 2003. On 26 October 2011, The Queen of Australia invested Bryce as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) at Government House in Canberra.^[2]

Bryce was appointed the Governor of Queensland in 2003. Although some concerns were raised during her time in the position, her five-year term was to be extended until 2009. However, on 13 April 2008, before the completion of the initial five years, it was announced that Bryce was to become the next Governor-General of Australia. The decision was generally well received, and on 5 September 2008 Bryce was sworn in, succeeding Major General Michael Jeffery, becoming the first woman to be the Governor-General.^[3]

Early life[link]

Quentin Alice Louise Strachan was born in 1942 in Brisbane,^[4] the second of four daughters.^[5] Her parents, Norman Walter Strachan and Edwina Naida Wetzel,^[4] had taken up residence at Ilfracombe in 1940. Quentin—along with all of the children in her family—was home-schooled, rather than attending the local State school.^[6] Her family left the area in 1949, initially relocating to Launceston, Tasmania, where they remained for approximately a year. Returning to Queensland, her family moved to Belmont. It was when living in Belmont that she attended the Camp Hill State School, and it was there that she first met her future husband, Michael Bryce.^[7]

During the period that they were residing in Belmont, her father moved to Tenterfield, New South Wales. In 1956 Quentin Strachan started attending boarding school at Moreton Bay College, Wynnum, Brisbane.^[8] Upon graduating from high school she undertook studies at the University of Queensland, initially enrolling in a social work and arts degree, but transferring to Law in her third year at the institution.^[8] She graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Arts in 1962 and Bachelor of Laws in 1965.^[9][10]

She married Michael Bryce on 12 December 1964.^[4] In 1965, she was one of the first women to be admitted to the Queensland bar,^[11] although she never practised professionally.^[7]

Career[link]

After spending some time in London, Bryce returned to Australia and accepted a part-time tutoring position at the T. C. Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland in 1968, thus becoming the first woman to be appointed to the faculty.^[12] In 1969 she took up a lecturing position at the law school,^[13] and she continued to teach at the university until 1983.^[7]

In 1978 the Fraser government formed the National Women's Advisory Council, and Bryce was "vaulted to prominence" with her appointment to the council,^[7] taking on the role of convener in 1982.^[13] In 1984 she became the first director of the Queensland Women's Information Service under the umbrella of the Office of the Status of Women,^[14] and was appointed as the "women's representative on the National Committee on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation".^[13] Then in 1987 she became the Queensland director of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC).^[14]

Over a five-year period (1988–1993) Bryce served as Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner during the time of the Hawke Labor government.^[15] Her time in the role was a busy one, with around 2,000 complaints being handled by the commission each year, and the work was both difficult and complex.^[16] The period was also noted as being one of "galloping legal reform" for the rights of women, yet, as Sandra McLean described it, Bryce kept a firm grip on the "reins of change" during this time.^[15] Nevertheless, concerns were raised when in 1990 Alexander Proudfoot formally complained that the women's health centres in the Australian Capital Territory were operating in breach of the Sex Discrimination Act.^[14] This culminated in 1994 when Bryce faced an HREOC hearing after being accused of discriminating against Proudfoot – and ended when the commission found in Bryce's favour and dismissed the complaint, stating that the behaviour in question "did not reflect on the way Ms Bryce discharged her duties".^[17]

After finishing her time as the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Quentin Bryce became the founding chair and chief executive officer of the National Childcare Accreditation Council, where she remained for three years,^[14] before changing direction between 1997 and 2003 when she became the principal and chief executive officer of The Women's College within the University of Sydney, New South Wales.^[18] The move was said to have "stunned her political and legal acquaintances",^[7] but Bryce saw it as bringing "together all the life skills and attributes" that she had acquired, as well as providing an opportunity to have an influence on the students' futures.^[19]

In other roles, Bryce has been the chair of the National Breast Cancer Advisory Council and sat on the Australian Women's Cricket Board,^[19] and has been a member of organisations such as the YWCA, the Australian Children's Television Foundation and the Association for the Welfare of Children in Hospital.^[20] Bryce was also a US State Department Visitor in 1978 and a Member of the Australian Delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland from 1989 to 1991^[4]

Governor of Queensland[link]

In 2003, on the recommendation of the Premier Peter Beattie, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, appointed her Governor of Queensland, the second woman to occupy the position.^[14] Once Bryce's nomination had been accepted by the Queen, Beattie opened it up for debate in the Legislative Assembly—an "unprecedented" move performed by the Premier as the first step in changing the manner by which the nominations are managed.^[15] Nevertheless, the outcome was never in doubt, as Beattie had a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly and had "cleared the vote with the National and Liberal leaders" prior to the debate.^[14]

Bryce's stint at Government House was not always peaceful, but she was considered by some as a "highly respected figure" during her time as Governor.^[21] Concerns raised in the media included the "substantial" exit of staff at Government House not long after Bryce became Governor, (as at least eight staff, including the Executive Office, Head Chef, House Manager and Gardener left during her term),^[22] and the use of Government House for private parties.^[23] In response to the latter, Beattie argued that there was nothing wrong with holding private functions at Government House, especially as Bryce had paid for the events out of her own pocket,^[23] while the Queensland Public Sector Union stated in 2008 that the staff disputes were "with the management as a whole, but there wasn't anything specific against the Governor".^[24] Staff at Queensland Government House had not been enthusiastic about Bryce as Queensland Governor.^[25] A former staff member described Bryce thus:

"She's a control freak. She's all sweet and understanding in public, but in private it was a whole different ball game."^[25]

In January 2008 it was announced her initial 5-year term, due to end in late July 2008, was to be extended to cover the period of Queensland's sesquicentennial celebrations in 2009.^[26] In making the announcement, Labor Premier Anna Bligh described how Bryce had been an "inspiring leader" while serving as Governor, and acknowledged Bryce's willingness to spend a "great deal of time" in regional and remote areas, serving as a "Governor for all of Queensland".^[27] The extension did not eventuate, however, as she was appointed Governor-General, and she was succeeded as Queensland Governor on 29 July 2008 by Penelope Wensley.^[28]

Governor-General[link]

Bryce after an interview at Regatta Point at the Australia Day ceremony in Canberra on 26 January 2010

On 13 April 2008 it was announced that, on the recommendation of Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the Queen had approved her appointment as the next Governor-General of Australia.^[29] The decision was generally well received: current and previous Labor State Premiers supported her selection, and both the then Leader of the Opposition, Brendan Nelson, and the leader of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown, spoke in favour of the decision.^[30] Patricia Edgar described Bryce's selection as an "inspired choice",^[31] while Jill Singer in the Herald Sun stated that the decision signalled "an important about face for Australia".^[32]

There was some opposition to the appointment, in particular from columnist Des Houghton,^[who?]who argued that she would bring a "fair bit of baggage" to the role (in reference to the controversies surrounding her time as the Governor of Queensland), and that she had failed to live up to her promise to be outspoken during her time at Government House.^[33] Concerns were also raised in August 2008, when it was revealed that Bryce intended to replace Malcolm Hazell, who had been the Official Secretary for both Major General Michael Jeffery and Dr. Peter Hollingworth, with Stephen Brady. Kevin Rudd defended Bryce's decision, arguing that she had the right to appoint a new Official Secretary.^[34]

Bryce was sworn in on 5 September 2008. On 23 September 2008 she granted her first interview as Governor-General with Kerry O'Brien for The 7.30 Report on ABC1.^[35]

Criticism[link]

Bryce has not escaped criticism in her role as Governor-General. Greg Sheridan in the national newspaper, The Australian suggested that Bryce is risking "politicising and misusing the office".^[36] Sheridan was commenting on Bryce's planned trip to Africa, on behalf of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, to lobby for a seat for Australia in the United Nations Security Council.^[36] He further stated that Bryce's "feigned interest in Africa will be seen cynically by Africans".^[36] Sheridan added that the Governor-General should travel overseas "only rarely and for ceremonial purposes"^[36] and "they have no right to engage in foreign policy debate, at home or abroad".^[36]

Professor David Flint, National Convenor of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy,^[37] said any criticiasm of the South African tour shoud be directed to the government and not the Governor-General.^[38] He stated: "The Governor-General must act on advice, except in relation to her most important role, that of constitutional guardian. She may advise against a state visit, but if ministers insist, must go. In that event, she must not of course act as an advocate, although she may inform the foreign government of the Australian government's policy".^[38] He said that a Governor-General must be seen to be above politics.^[38]

Titles, styles and honours[link]

Viceregal styles of Quentin Bryce
Reference style	Her Excellency
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Alternative style	Ma'am

Titles[link]

• 23 December 1942 – 11 December 1964: Miss Quentin Strachan
• 12 December 1964 – 25 January 1988: Mrs Quentin Bryce
• 26 January 1988 – 29 April 2003: Mrs Quentin Bryce AO
• 30 April 2003 – 28 July 2003: Mrs Quentin Bryce AC
• 29 July 2003 – 29 July 2008: Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor of Queensland
• 5 September 2008 – 25 October 2011: Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
• 26 October 2011 – present: Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia

Honours[link]

	Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)	30 April 2003[39]
	Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)	26 January 1988 "In recognition of service to the community, particularly to women and children".[40]
	Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO)	26 October 2011 by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II during her Royal Visit.[41]
	Dame of grace of The Most Venerable Order of The Hospital of St John of Jerusalem	November 2003 [9]
	Australian Sports Medal	25 December 2000 "For Services to Women's Cricket".[42]
	Centenary Medal	1 January 2001 "For service to Australian society in business leadership".[43]
100x20px	Commemorative Medal for the 30th Anniversary of Vanuatu	30 July 2010 [44]
100x20px	Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Crown	October 2010 Invested by His Majesty, King George Tupou V, King of Tonga.[45]

Honorary military positions[link]

• 2008 – Incumbent: Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps

Honorary degrees[link]

Queensland:

• Bryce was conferred with the degree of Honorary Doctor of the University (Hon.DUniv) by Griffith University in 2003.^[9]
• Honorary Doctor of the James Cook University (Hon.DUniv (JCU))^[4]
• In 2004, Bryce was made an Honorary Doctor of the University (Hon.DU) by the Queensland University of Technology.^[9]
• In 2006 Bryce was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws (Hon.LLD) by The University of Queensland.^[9]

New South Wales:

• In 1998, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Macquarie University (Hon.LLD).^[9]
• In 2002, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by Charles Sturt University (Hon.DLitt).^[9]
• In 2010,Bryce was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws (Hon.LLD) by The University of Sydney,where she was the principal of The Women's College, University of Sydney from 1997 to 2003.^[46]

Footnotes[link]