Gordon Reid (governor)

The Honourable Gordon Reid AC
26th Governor of Western Australia
In office 2 July 1984 – 30 September 1989
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Premier	Brian Burke Peter Dowding
Preceded by	Sir Richard Trowbridge
Succeeded by	Sir Francis Burt
Personal details
Born	Gordon Stanley Reid (1923-09-22)22 September 1923 Hurtsville, Sydney, New South Wales
Died	26 October 1989(1989-10-26) (aged 66) Perth, Western Australia
Nationality	Australian
Spouse	Ruth Reid
Alma mater	London School of Economics Nuffield College, University of Oxford
Occupation	Clerk
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Royal Australian Air Force
Years of service	1942–1946
Rank	Flying Officer
Battles/wars	Second World War

Gordon Stanley Reid AC (22 September 1923 – 26 October 1989) was an Australian academic who served as the 26th Governor of Western Australia. Born in Hurstville, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, he was educated at Hurstville Boys High School before enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force, where he served as a flying officer during the Second World War. After the conclusion of the war, Reid studied at the London School of Economics in England, later winning a scholarship to Nuffield College at the University of Oxford. Having obtained his Doctorate of Philosophy, Reid lectured at the University of Adelaide before serving as the vice-chancellor of the University of Western Australia from 1978 to 1982. Appointed governor in 1984, he served in the position until 1989, resigning a month before his death from cancer.

Early life and education

Reid was educated at Hurstville Boys High School in New South Wales from 1934 to 1937, then enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942, reaching the rank of Flying Officer by the time of his discharge in 1946. He met and married his wife, Ruth, in Brighton, England while stationed at RAF Gamston. In his civilian career Reid worked as a reading clerk, accountant and clerk of papers. He was clerk of records for the Australian House of Representatives from 1952 to 1955, and was Serjeant-at-Arms at Parliament House, Canberra while studying for his Commerce degree. He then travelled to England where he obtained his master's degree and his Doctor of Philosophy degree at the London School of Economics. He won a Nuffield Scholarship.

Academic and governor

Prior to serving as governor in 1984, Professor Reid lectured at Adelaide University and served at the University of Western Australia as Vice-Chancellor (1978–82) and Professor of Politics (1966–70, 1974–78, 1983–84). He was the author and joint author of various books and publications on Australian politics including:

• The politics of financial control (1966)
• Out of the wilderness: the return of Labor (1974)
• The Western Australian elections (1974)
• The premiers of Western Australia, 1890–1982 (1982)

As part of the Australian parliament's bicentenary publications project, Reid, assisted by Martin Forrest, was commissioned to write a history of the parliament.

In 1986, Reid was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).

On 20 August 1989, the Premier, Peter Dowding, announced that Reid had been undergoing extensive surgery for cancer, and would be stepping down as governor. He died shortly after, on 26 October.

External links

• Papers of Professor Gordon Stanley Reid ( –1989), National Library of Australia
• The Reid Oration to honour Professor Reid's contribution to public life.

Further reading

• Spillman, Ken (Ed.): A Gentle Man. Memories of Professor Gordon Reid 1923–1989. (1990) ISBN 0-9589701-1-4