Phillip Bennett

DSO
Bennett in 1992
23rd Governor of Tasmania
In office 19 October 1987 – 2 October 1995
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Premier	Robin Gray Michael Field Ray Groom
Preceded by	Sir James Plimsoll
Succeeded by	Sir Guy Green
Personal details
Born	(1928-12-27)27 December 1928 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Died	1 August 2023(2023-08-01) (aged 94)
Spouse(s)	Margaret, Lady Bennett
Occupation	Soldier
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Australian Army
Years of service	1946–1987
Rank	General
Commands	Chief of the Defence Force (1984–87) Chief of General Staff (1982–84) 1st Division (1977–79) 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1967–69) 2nd Commando Company (1958–61)
Battles/wars	Korean War Malayan Emergency Vietnam War Battle of Coral–Balmoral
Awards	Mentioned in Despatches Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States)

from 1987 to 1995.

Early life

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Bennett was born in Perth, Western Australia, and educated at Perth Modern School and the Royal Military College, Duntroon, from which he graduated as a lieutenant on 14 December 1948. With 13 other new officers, he was posted in March 1949 to 67 Infantry Battalion, The Australian Regiment, then in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, Japan.

Military career

Bennett served in Japan until September 1950 and then embarked with the

On his return to Australia in 1953, Bennett became the Adjutant of the

Bennett then commanded the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, where he was a key commander in the Battle of Coral–Balmoral. This battle was the largest unit-level action of the Vietnam War for the Australians and today the battle is considered one of the most famous actions fought by the Australian Army during the war. For his service in Vietnam in 1968–69, Bennett was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.^[3] On return from UK Joint service training in 1971 he became Colonel Coordination in the office of Chief of the General Staff and in April 1974 was promoted to brigadier, Chief of Staff at HQ Field Force Command in Sydney until December 1975.

Bennett attended senior officer training at the Australian Staff College first long course in 1960–61, Joint Services Staff College in the UK as a student then exchange instructor 1969–71, and then the Royal College of Defence Studies in the UK in 1976. He commanded the 1st Division 1977–79, became Assistant Chief of Defence Staff 1979–82, Chief of the General Staff 1982–84 and Chief of the Defence Force in 1984 (the position having been changed from Chief of the Defence Staff). He retired from the Army in April 1987.^[4]

Governor of Tasmania

During his period as governor, Bennett was called on to be the adjudicator of a sensitive constitutional problem following the inconclusive Tasmanian state election in 1989. The Liberal Government of Premier

Gray refused to resign, initially intending to stay in office until defeated in the House. When he learned of the Labor-Green agreement, he asked Bennett to dissolve the legislature and call new elections. Under normal circumstances, Bennett would have been bound by convention to honour this request. However, Bennett refused to do so. He believed that Gray was no longer in a position to govern, and therefore had lost the right to ask for a dissolution. He'd also been privately assured before the formal accord was signed that the Greens would back a Labor government. Gray was thus forced to resign, and Bennett commissioned Field as premier.

Bennett on several occasions also became Administrator of the Commonwealth during overseas visits by the then Governor-General, Bill Hayden.

Retirement

After retiring from the governorship, Bennett served as inaugural Chairman of the Australian War Memorial Foundation. He was the Patron of the 2 Commando Association (now the Australian Commando Association Victoria) from 1985,^[5] Patron of The St John Ambulance in the ACT from 1996, and a President of the Order of Australia Association (elected National President of the Order of Australian Association in March 1997). He was also the inaugural National Patron of the Royal Australian Regiment Association.^{[citation needed]}

A biography of Bennett's life, The Last Knight by Robert Lowry, was published in 2011.^[6]

Death

Sir Philip Bennett died on 1 August 2023, at the age of 94.^[7][8]

Awards and honours

Bennett was appointed a

In 1983, he was made a Commander of the US Legion of Merit, and in 1985, was awarded the South Korean Order of National Security Merit. He was awarded an Honorary LLD (NSW) in October 1995 for his contribution to military education and the Australian Defence Force Academy. He was made a Knight of St John in 1988^[13] and awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by the University of Tasmania in 1992. He was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001.

References