Scotch College

Peter Hollingworth appointed Governor - General

The whole Scotch Family was delighted at the announcement that Old Boy, Peter Hollingworth ('47 - '51), would be Governor-General Designate of Australia.

One of the interesting sidelights to Peter's appointment is that since Federation there have only been ten Australians who have been appointed Governor General, and of those ten, three have been Old Scotch Collegians: Sir Zelman Cowen ('35), Sir Ninian Stephen ('40) and Peter. This is a truly remarkable achievement for our great school.

Shortly after the announcement, Peter journeyed to England to visit Her Majesty the Queen, and this co-incided with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, conferring upon him the Lambeth Degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt). Henceforth he will be titled Dr Peter Hollingworth.

Peter's illustrious career included his outstanding work with the Brotherhood of St Laurence, which finished when he was appointed Archbishop of Brisbane in March 1990.

In 1992 he was made Australian of the Year and in an interview with the Sunday Age, following his award, he said 'my vision for Australia is of a just, sustainable, participatory and efficient society. In this vision, justice for all people, all races, male and female, is quintessential'.

The School welcomed Peter to the Year 12 Speech Night that year, when he gave a challenging and stimulating speech to the boys about to leave.

With his great vision for Australia there is no doubt that he will bring honour and integrity to the office of Governor General, as did the two Old Boys who preceded him. We all wish him well.