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List of Australian George Cross recipients

An ellipse of orange pavers surrounded by a grey border, with a man-made rock structure on one side of the ellipse displaying plaques. On the other side are two bench seats. Grass surrounds the ellipse and trees can be seen in the background.
Memorial to Australian recipients of the George Cross, George Cross Park, Canberra.

The George Cross (GC) is the highest civil decoration for heroism in the United Kingdom. Australia as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations through the Governor-General of Australia was eligible to recommend awards, with the last GC recommended in 1972, on the advice of the Australian Prime Minister, for the late Jack Emanuel GC. Each governor of the six Australian colonies, when achieving self-government in the second half of the nineteenth century, had the power on the advice of the colonial premier to recommend awards. This power was retained by colonial governors who became state governors when Australia federated on 1 January 1901. The last Australian recommendation for the GC was made by the State Governor of Victoria in 1978 for the award to Constable Michael Kenneth Pratt.[1]

Australian prime minister Paul Keating, on 5 October 1992, following more than two years of negotiations with Australian State governments, announced Australia would make no further recommendations under the Imperial honours system. British honours awarded to Australians, including the GC, after the announcement, would be treated as foreign awards.[2][3] The highest civil decoration for heroism in Australia is the Cross of Valour instituted by letters patent within the Commonwealth of Australia and its Territories on 14 February 1975 when the Australian honours system was inaugurated.[4][5]

Between the first award of the GC to an Australian in 1942 and the final bestowal to Constable Pratt in1978,14 Australians were directly decorated with the medal. Nine awards were to military personnel and five were to civilians. Eight of the awards were posthumous.[6]

  1. ^ Staunton 2005, p. 339
  2. ^ A matter of honour: the report of the review of Australian honours and awards, December 1995, pp. 21–22
  3. ^ Commonwealth of Australia Special Gazette S192, Friday, 28 September 2007 published with GN40, 17 October 2007 online at https://www.legislation.gov.au/gazettes/historic/2007
  4. ^ "Cross of Valour". It's an Honour. Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  5. ^ Staunton 2005, p. 350
  6. ^ Blanch 2020 pp. viii-ix
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