Edric Bastyan

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CB
Sir Edric Bastyan (centre)
20th Governor of Tasmania
In office
2 December 1968 – 30 November 1973
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded bySir Charles Gairdner
Succeeded bySir Stanley Burbury
25th Governor of South Australia
In office
4 April 1961 – 1 June 1968
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded bySir Robert George
Succeeded bySir James Harrison
Personal details
Born
Edric Montague Bastyan

(1903-04-05)5 April 1903
Mentioned in Despatches

CB (5 April 1903 – 6 October 1980) was a senior British Army officer, who became Governor of South Australia from 4 April 1961 until 1 June 1968 then Governor of Tasmania
from 2 December 1968 until 30 November 1973. He was the last British person to be governor of either state.

Military career

After completing his studies at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Bastyan was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the British Army's Sherwood Foresters on 30 August 1923,[1] and promoted to lieutenant on 30 August 1925.[2] He was promoted to captain in the West Yorkshire Regiment on 4 April 1935[3] and attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1936 to 1937, transferring to the Royal Irish Fusiliers in 1937, and seeing service in Palestine from 1938 to 1939.[4] Bastyan was promoted to major on 30 August 1940.[5]

From November 1939 to June 1941, during the

Companion of the Order of the Bath in August 1944.[9]

In December 1944, Bastyan was appointed an acting major general (Administration, Allied Land Forces, South East Asia).[10] He was promoted to the permanent rank of colonel in July 1945,[4] and confirmed as temporary major general in October 1946.[11] He was promoted to substantive major-general on 26 January 1948, with seniority from 13 April 1946.[12]

After the war, Bastyan, after serving as an instructor at the

Berlin airlift between 1946 and 1948).[14] He went on to be Chief of Staff at Eastern Command in July 1949, Director of Staff Duties at the War Office in November 1950 and General Officer Commanding 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division in October 1952.[14] After that he became Deputy Adjutant-General at the War Office in March 1955 and then Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong in June 1957.[14] He retired from the British Army in June 1960 and was appointed Governor of South Australia on 4 April 1961.[15]

Vice-Regal career

On two occasions during his period as governor in South Australia, the elections did not result in a clear majority. In both 1962 and 1968, rather than make a precipitate decision to select the

Steele Hall.[16]

Bastyan's term in office in Tasmania was relatively uneventful, though he did have to deal, after the 1969 State election, with a deadlocked House of Assembly where both the ALP and Liberals had the same number of seats. The matter was resolved by Kevin Lyons, the lone representative of the tiny Centre Party entering into a coalition with the Liberals.[16]

References

  1. ^ "No. 32858". The London Gazette. 31 August 1923. pp. 5910–5911.
  2. ^ "No. 33080". The London Gazette. 1 September 1925. p. 5767.
  3. ^ "No. 34158". The London Gazette. 4 April 1935. p. 2983.
  4. ^ a b c d Houterman, Hans; Koppes, Jeroen (2015). "British Army Officers 1939–1945 (Barton to Best)". WWII Unit Histories & Officers. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  5. ^ "No. 34934". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 August 1940. p. 5271.
  6. ^ "No. 35120". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 March 1941. p. 1871.
  7. ^ "No. 35697". The London Gazette. 8 September 1942. p. 3945.
  8. ^ "No. 36317". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 January 1944. p. 149.
  9. ^ "No. 36679". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 August 1944. p. 4043.
  10. ^ "No. 36877". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 January 1945. p. 213.
  11. ^ "No. 37886". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 February 1947. p. 850.
  12. ^ "No. 38197". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 February 1948. p. 889.
  13. ^ Smart 2005, p. 24.
  14. ^ a b c "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Table A: Governors and Administrators" (PDF). Parliament of South Australia. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Sir Edric Montague Bastyan (1903–1980)". Bastyan, Sir Edric Montague (1903–1980). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 9 June 2020.

Bibliography

External links
Military offices
Preceded by GOC 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division
1952–1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong
1957–1960 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Governor of South Australia
1961–1968 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Tasmania
1968–1973 		Succeeded by
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