Person
Casey, Richard Gavin Gardiner (1890 - 1976)
KG GCMG CH DSO MC PC FAA
- Born
- 29 August 1890
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia - Died
- 17 June 1976
Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Engineer, Science administrator and Governor-General
Summary
Richard Casey had a major influence on international collaboration in science and technology in Australia, particularly when he was the Minister-in-Charge of CSIR/CSIRO 1937-1939, 1950-1960, Minister for External Affairs 1951-1960 and Governor-General of Australia 1965-1969. Also through his earlier liaison roles in London 1924-1931 and America 1940-1942, and his later roles associated with ANARE and CSIRO.
Related achievements include: his support for BANZARE expeditions 1929 -1931; the Antarctic Treaty (1959); the establishment of Mawson and Davis Stations in Antarctica; and the taking over of Wilkes station (1959). Casey Range (1930), Casey Bay (1956), and Casey Station (1965) in Antarctica are named in his honour.
He has also been recognised by the naming of the City of Casey within Greater Melbourne, and the naming of Casey, a suburb of Canberra.
Details
Chronology
- 1909
- Education - Engineering student, University of Melbourne
- 1913
- Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA) (Hons engineering), University of Cambridge
- 1913 - 1914
- Career position - Worked at Mount Morgan Gold Mining Co Ltd, Queensland [his father was chairman of the company]
- 1914 - 1918
- Military service - First World War. Lieutenant, rising to Captain, and Major, Australian Infantry Forces [Chiefly as a staff officer]
- 1917
- Award - Military Cross (MC) - Volunteer Auto Corps
- 1918
- Education - Master of Arts (MA), University of Cambridge
- 1918
- Award - Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) - Australian Infantry Forces
- 1918
- Award - Mentioned in Despatches (MID), twice
- 1919
- Career event - Returned to Australia via America [Visiting engineering and metallurgical works, related to Mount Morgan Company]
- 1919 - 1923
- Career position - Board member, various companies including Mount Morgan Company
- c. 1920 - c. 1923
- Career position - Established a small steel-manufacturing firm, making cultery
- 1923
- Career position - Member of a syndicate that supported the production of an automotive engine, developed and manufactured by A G M Michell [Casey unsuccessfully marketed the engine in America]
- 1924 - 1931
- Career position - Australian political liaison officer, London [under Stanley Bruce. Casey was also closely associated with BANZARE]
- 1931 - 1940
- Career position - Member of the House of Representatives (MHR), for Corio, Commonwealth of Australia
- 1933 - 1935
- Career position - Assistant Treasurer, Commonwealth of Australia
- 1935 - 1939
- Career position - Treasurer, Commonwealth of Australia [under Joseph Lyons and Earle Page]
- 1937
- Career event - Member, Australian Delegation, Imperial Conference & Coronation
- 1937 - 1939
- Career position - Minister-in-Charge of Development and Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Commonwealth of Australia
- 1939
- Career position - Appointed Privy Councillor (PC)
- 1939
- Career event - Australian Representative, Imperial Conference on Conduct of War
- 1939 - 1940
- Career position - Minister for Supply and Development [under Robert Menzies]
- 1940 - 1942
- Career position - Ambassador to the United States, Commonwealth of Australia [First Australian Minister to USA]
- 1942
- Career position - Member, War Cabinet [under Winston Churchill]
- 1942 - 1943
- Career position - Minister of State, resident in the Middle East, British government [appointed by Winston Churchill]
- 1944
- Award - Companion of Honour (CH) - Minister of State in Cairo during World War 2
- 1944 - 1945
- Career position - Governor of Bengal [appointed by Winston Churchill]
- 1946
- Life event - Returned to Australia
- 1947 - 1950
- Career position - Federal president, Liberal Party of Australia
- 1949 - 1951
- Career position - Minister for Supply and Development (National Development from 1950)
- 1949 - 1951
- Career position - Minister for Works and Housing, Commonwealth of Australia
- 1949 - 1960
- Career position - Member of the House of Representatives (MHR), for La Trobe, Commonwealth of Australia
- 1950 - 1960
- Career position - Minister-in-Charge, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Commonwealth of Australia
- 1951 - 1960
- Career position - Minister for External Affairs, Commonwealth of Australia
- 1960
- Career position - Life peer, Baron Casey, of Berwick in the State of Victoria and Commonwealth of Australia and of the City of Westminster
- 1965
- Award - Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) - Governor-General designate
- 1965 - 1969
- Career position - Governor-General of Australia
- 1966
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
- 1966
- Award - Honorary Member (HonMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1967
- Award - Doctor of Engineering (DEng), honoris causa, University of Newcastle
- 1968
- Award - Honorary Fellow (HonFIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia [Former Honorary Members were designated Honorary Fellows on this date.]
- 1969
- Award - Australian of the Year
- 1969
- Award - Knight of the Garter (KG) - Governor-General of Australia - 1965 and 1969
Related entries
Children
Archival resources
National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection
- Cornelius Gavin Casey - Records, 1820 - 1978, MS 6150; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
Published resources
Books
- Hudson, W. J., Casey (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1986), 361 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Hudson, W. J., 'Casey, Richard Gavin Gardiner (Baron Casey) (1890-1976)' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 13: 1940 - 1980 A-De, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), pp. 381-385. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130426b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- White, F. W. G., 'Casey of Berwick and Westminster, Baron Richard Gardiner Casey, KG, PC, GCMG, CH, DSO, MC, KStJ, FAA, MA(Cantab.)', Records of the Australian Academy of Science, 3 (4) (1977), 54-83. http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9770340054.htm. Details
- White, F. W.G., 'Robert Gordon Menzies (1894-1978)', Historical Records of Australian Science, 5 (1) (1980), 68-102. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9800510068. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q335310. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/29660810. Details
- CA 2001 Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office, 'NAA: B2455, Casey R G', B2455 First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=4028782. Details
- '1969 Australian of the Year', Australian of the Year Awards, National Australia Day Council, https://australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/richard-gardiner-casey-kg-gcmg-ch-dso-mc-kstj-pc-memoriam. Details
- 'Casey, Richard Gavin Gardiner (1890-1976)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1464911. Details
- 'Awarded honorary DEng, 1967', Honorary degrees, University of Newcastle, 2023, https://www.newcastle.edu.au/engage/alumni/stories/honorary-degrees. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Primary description of person CP 24; Richard Gardiner Casey', in RecordSearch, National Archives of Australia, 2000, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?Number=CP%2024. Details
- Ward, C., 'Lord Richard Gavin Gardiner Casey', in CSIROpedia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 2011, https://csiropedia.csiro.au/Casey-Lord-Richard-Gavin-Gardiner. Details
- White, F. W. G., 'Richard Gardiner Casey 1890-1976', in Australian Academy of Science Biographical Memoirs, Australian Academy of Science, 2006, https://www.science.org.au/fellowship/fellows/biographical-memoirs-1/richard-gardiner-casey-1890-1976. Details
See also
- Federation and Meteorology, 2001, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/fam/index_c.html. Details
- Binnie, Anna, 'Oliphant, the Father of Atomic Energy', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 139 (2006), 11-22, https://royalsoc.org.au/images/pdf/journal/139_Binnie2.pdf. Details
- Bowler, Jim, 'Unlikely encounters: Geology and archaeology' in Dhoombak goobgoowana: a history of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne - Volume 1: The Truth, Ross L. Jones, James Waghorne and Marcia Langton, eds (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 2024), pp. 107-124, https://www.mup.com.au/books/dhoombak-goobgoowana-paperback-softback. Details
- Green, F. C., 'Casey, Richard Gardiner (1846-1919)' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 3: 1851 - 1890 A-C, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1969), pp. 366-367. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A030342b.htm. Details
- Rees, A. L. G., 'Ian William Wark 1899-1985', Historical Records of Australian Science, 6 (4) (1987), 533-548. https://doi.org/10.1071HR9870640533. Details
- Sherratt, Tim, 'CSIRO' in Oxford Companion to Australian History, Graeme Davison; John Hirst; Stuart Macintyre, ed. (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 164-165. http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/pubs/articles/tps/csiro_history.htm. Details
Digital resources
Gavan McCarthy; Ken McInnes
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 December 2023
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education