Sir John Kerr: A legacy complicated by controversy

The Australian School of pacific Administration (ASOPA) operated at Middle Head / Gubbuh Gubbuh, Mosman in various forms between 1947 and 1997. Today, the site of the former school is managed by the Harbour Trust. In this article, volunteer researcher, Michele Harper reflects on Kerr’s life, including his three-year stint as the principal of ASOPA and his controversial tenure as Governor-General.

Accomplished academic of humble origins

Born in Balmain in 1914, Kerr was the son of a dressmaker and a boilermaker. An exceptional student, he was the recipient of many scholarships and prizes. According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald from 1932, his accolades included a State Bursary, the Parkes Bursary Prize, the Suttor Prize for Australian History and the Sundstrom Prize for General Proficiency. After high school, he pursued law at the University of Sydney with a £50 annual scholarship funded by Herbert Vere Evatt. Evatt later became Leader of the Labor Party and a High Court Judge. Graduating with first-class honours and the University Medal in 1936, Kerr was admitted as a barrister in 1938 and ran a successful law practice specialising in accident and industrial compensation.

A meteoric military career during the 40s

In January 1942, Kerr enlisted in the army as a private and was commissioned as a lieutenant later that year in the Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs (DORCA). Part of the Directorate’s function was to advise the Australian Government on matters concerning civil government in Papua New Guinea. Newspaper articles from 1945 highlight Kerr's meteoric army career, noting his promotion to Lieutenant-Colonel by April 1944 and his role in representing Australia at key international conferences. In 1944, the Army announced the creation of the School of Civil Affairs under DORCA, and in 1945, Kerr was appointed Chief Instructor of the new institution.

From wartime school to civilian institution

At the end of the war, the school was reestablished as the Australian School of Pacific Administration (ASOPA) for peacetime, and Kerr, who had been demobilised with the rank of Colonel, was appointed its first principal. ASOPA provided postwar statecraft and public service expertise for Australia’s Pacific interests, including training public servants for service in Papua New Guinea, Nauru and the Northern Territory. On 12 April 1947, the Cabinet approved the permanent establishment of ASOPA, and the organisation initially relocated to temporary quarters in two Quonset huts at Georges Heights before moving to Middle Head. In 1946, Kerr worked at ASOPA alongside Anne Robson, a Fellow in Colonial Administration. She became his second wife after he was widowed in 1972.

In 1948, Kerr resigned from his role as principal of ASOPA, choosing to return to practicing law rather than committing permanently to running departmental training courses. He, along with Colonel Leonard Conlon, is credited with showcasing the value of ASOPA during peacetime, leading to its permanent establishment. Kerr also managed the transition of the organisation into a civilian institution and its successful relocation to Middle Head.

The dismissal of the Whitlam Government

Kerr enjoyed a successful legal career and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1953. His legal work included cases in constitutional law, industrial law and national basic wages. In 1966, he was appointed a judge of the Commonwealth Industrial Court and the Supreme Court of the ACT. By 1972, Kerr had been appointed Chief Justice of NSW and Lieutenant-Governor of NSW. On 27 February 1974, it was announced that he would become the next Governor-General of Australia, a position he formally assumed on 11 July that same year. He was subsequently knighted in the 1974 New Year’s Honours list.

Sir John Kerr is perhaps best known for the controversy arising from his decision as Governor-General to dismiss the Gough Whitlam Government in November 1975. Concurrently, ASOPA continued to operate without controversy, initially focusing on Papua New Guinea and later expanding its work internationally. After Papua New Guinea achieved self-government in 1973, ASOPA was restructured into the International Training Institute, offering training assistance to developing countries. The final restructuring and renaming of ASOPA saw the Middle Head site used as a base for consultants operating in the South Pacific. The institution closed in 1997, six years on from Kerr’s death, aged 76.

References

• The Canberra Times, Tuesday 26 March 1991, page 8
• Campbell, I C, Journal of Pacific History – June 2000. The ASOPA controversy. http://www.asopa.com.au/archives/Journal%20of%20Pacific%20History.htm
• Gray, Geoffrey, Winter, Christine (2012), Scholars at War: Australasian Social Scientists, 1939-1945, pp 29-34
• Jackson, Keith, The ASOPA Archives, PNG Attitude The ASOPA Archives - Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE
• National Archives of Australia. View digital copy (naa.gov.au)
• Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, Friday 14 November 1975, page 15
• Smith’s Weekly, Saturday 5 May 1945, page 5
• Smith’s Weekly, Saturday 19 May 1945, page 4
• Smith’s Weekly, Saturday 20 September 1947, page 3
• Souter Gavin, The Fortian, 1972, pages 12-14. Famous Fortians, John Robert Kerr
• The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 14 March 1932, page 10

Article was originally published on 22 January 2025.