| Australian Consul General to Hong Kong | |
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms of Australia | |
 Incumbent since 2 November 2023Gareth Williams | |
| 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 |
| Consulate General of Australia, Hong Kong | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 澳洲駐香港總領事館 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 澳洲驻香港总领事馆 | ||||||||||||
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TheAustralian Consulate General Hong Kong represents the Commonwealth ofAustralia inHong Kong, and is also accredited toMacau. As Hong Kong was linked to theCommonwealth duringBritish administration, Australia's diplomatic presence was exercised by anAustralian Commission, until 1 January 1986, when it was renamed the Australian Consulate-General.[1] From 1946 to 1972, Australia was represented by theAustralian Trade Commission.
Due to Hong Kong and Macau having the status ofSpecial Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China, the Australian Consulate-General in Hong Kong reports directly to theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) inCanberra, Australia, rather than to or through the Australian Embassy inBeijing.
The Consulate General is located on the 23rd floor ofHarbour Centre [zh] (海港中心) inWan Chai.[2]
An Australian Trade Commission in Hong Kong was originally signposted by the Australian Government ofJoseph Lyons in the early 1930s. On 30 August 1933 the Minister for Commerce,Frederick Stewart, secured Cabinet approval for the establishment of severalTrade Commissions in the East, withBatavia 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 AffairsJohn 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 coordination 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, theDepartment of External Affairs had offices within the Trade Commission.[7]
In 1972, the Trade Commission was upgraded and renamed theAustralian 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 theDepartment 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 asSingapore, continued to style their missions Commissions until thetransfer of sovereignty to thePeople's Republic of China in 1997.[11]
In August 1996, prior to thetransfer of sovereignty, Australian Foreign MinisterAlexander Downer, and Chinese Foreign MinisterQian Qichen, signed an agreement on the continuation of Australia's presence in Hong Kong in the form of aConsulate 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 following visa delays, which was attributed to political tensions between Australia and China.[14] The official residence of the Consul General atDeep Water Bay was burgled, however nothing was reportedly stolen.[15]
| 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] |
| Name | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
| Phil Ingram | 2007 | 2013 | |
| Dan Tebbut | 2013 | 2015 | |
| Sam Guthrie | 2016 |
| 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] |
| 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 | 3 November 2023 | [31] |
| Gareth Williams | 3 November 2023 | Present |
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1 Consuls general that report directly to their respectiveforeign ministries instead of their respective Beijing Embassy 2 They are classified ashonorary consulates | |
