Paul Hasluck

Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG, GCMG, GCVO (1 April 1905 – 9 January 1993) was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.

Early life

A native of Western Australia, Hasluck was born in Fremantle, into a family of Salvation Army members, whose values he retained throughout his career. He was educated at the prestigious Perth Modern School, which became something of a training-ground for future politicians (later students there included Prime Minister Bob Hawke as well as senators John Wheeldon and John O. Stone). Later Hasluck attended Perth's sole campus at the time, the University of Western Australia, where he graduated with a MA degree.

While still a student, Hasluck joined the literary staff of Perth's main newspaper, The West Australian; he also began to publish articles (in that journal and elsewhere) on the history of the state. After he had obtained his MA, he worked as a tutor in the UWA's history department, and in 1939 he was promoted to a lectureship in history. By that time he had been married for seven years to Alexandra Darker (1908–1993), with whom he had two sons. Alexandra Hasluck became a distinguished writer and historian in her own right, and was the first woman to be appointed a Dame of the Order of Australia.