Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck was an Australian statesman who served as the 17th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1969 to 1974.
Background
Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck was born on April 1, 1905 Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia. He was the son of Patience Eliza (née Wooler) and E'thel Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck. His father was born in Essex, England, and his mother was born in London. Both were Salvation Army officers.
Education
Hasluck spent his early years in Collie, where his father ran a boys' home, and attended a one-room school there. His parents later moved to Guildford, where they ran a nursing home, Riversleigh House.
Hasluck won a scholarship to Perth Modern School, which he attended from 1918 to 1922. He later attended Perth's sole campus at the time, the University of Western Australia, where he graduated with an initial diploma in journalism and later a Master of Arts degree.
While still a student, Hasluck joined the literary staff of Perth's main newspaper, The West Australian. He also began to publish articles 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.
Also in 1939, Hasluck established Freshwater Bay Press, through which he released his first book, Into the Desert. The advent of the Second World War, however, saw the publishing company go into hiatus.
In 1941 Hasluck was recruited to the staff of the Department of External Affairs and served on Australian delegations to several international conferences.
After the war Hasluck returned to the University of Western Australia as a Reader in History.
At the 1949 election Hasluck won Liberal preselection for the newly created Perth-area seat of Curtin. In 1951 the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies appointed Hasluck as Minister for Territories, a post he held for twelve years.
Hasluck was briefly Minister for Defence in 1963 and 1964, and then became Minister for External Affairs. He held this office during the height of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War, of which he was a passionate supporter.
When Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared in December 1967, presumed to have drowned, the choice was between Hasluck, John Gorton, Billy Snedden and Les Bury. Many Liberal MPs saw Hasluck as too old at 64, too conservative, and insufficiently telegenic to compete with Labor leader Gough Whitlam. Accordingly, they chose the younger and more aggressive Gorton.
In early 1969, Gorton offered Hasluck the post of Governor-General, which he accepted. Hasluck resigned from Parliament on 10 February 1969, being the first Western Australian member of the House of Representatives to resign. He was sworn in as Governor-General on 30 April 1969. This may have cost Hasluck a second opportunity to become Prime Minister. Gorton was forced to resign in 1971.
Hasluck granted Whitlam a double dissolution in April 1974 (with an election on 18 May) when the Liberal Opposition threatened to block the Budget bills in the Senate. Hasluck's term as Governor-General was due to expire in July 1974. Whitlam had offered to extend his term, but Hasluck declined, citing his wife's refusal to remain at Yarralumla longer than the originally agreed five years.
Hasluck's last official act as Governor-General was to open the 29th Parliament on 9 July 1974. Two days later, his successor, Sir John Kerr, was sworn in. Hasluck retired to Perth where he remained active in cultural and political affairs until his death in 1993.
Achievements
Connections
In 1932 he married 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 of only three women to be appointed a Dame of the Order of Australia.