Administrator of the Northern Territory

The Administrator of the Northern Territory is the person selected by the Governor-General of Australia to act as the governor of the Northern Territory of Australia. The selection of Administrator is made by the Governor-General-in-Council, that is, the Governor-General acting on the advice of the Australian government, not the advice of the Government of the Northern Territory.

Flag of the Northern Territory

The Northern Territory became self-governing on 1 July 1978.^[1] Now the Governor-General-in Council accepts a recommendation from the Northern Territory Government. Unlike an Australian State Governor, the Administrator does not represent the Queen in the Territory. They represent the Governor-General who is the Queen's representative in the Commonwealth. The Administrator's role is to govern the Territory under the law which gave it self-government. The Administrator's constitutional role is almost the same as a State Governor and can be considered the Queen's indirect representative in the Territory.

The office of the Deputy of the Administrator was created in 1997.

The present Administrator is Sally Thomas, AM.^[2]

South Australia (1846 to 1912)

The Northern Territory was part of South Australia from 1846 to 1912. The administrator was known as the Government Resident.

No.	Government Resident	From	To
1	Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, KCH, KCB	21 February 1846	28 December 1846[3]
2	The Hon. Boyle Finniss	3 March 1864	4 November 1865[4]
3	William Bloomfield Douglas	27 April 1870	June 1873[5]
4	George Byng Scott	6 October 1873	30 June 1876[6]
5	Edward William Price	1 July 1876	6 March 1883[7]
6	John Parsons	19 March 1884	14 February 1890[8]
7	John Knight FRIBA	16 July 1890	10 January 1892[9]
8	Charles James Dashwood	24 February 1892	31 January 1905[10]
9	Charles Edward Herbert	1 February 1905	8 February 1910[11]
10	The Hon. Samuel Mitchell	1 April 1910	25 March 1912

Commonwealth of Australia (1912 to present)

The Australian government took over control of the Northern Territory in 1912.

Administrator (1912 to 1919)

From left: Minister Josiah Thomas, Sir Walter Barttelot and Administrator John Gilruth in 1912.

No.	Administrator	From	To
1	John Gilruth FRSE MRCVS	25 March 1912	1 August 1919

Director (1919 to 1921)

No.	Director	From	To
1	Henry Ernest Carey	1 August 1919	17 January 1921

Administrator (1921 to 1927)

No.	Administrator	From	To
1	Frederic Urquhart	17 January 1921	1 March 1927

Government Resident (1927 to 1931)

There was an experiment having an extra Government Resident (Central Australia) in Alice Springs based at The Residency. Alice Springs was known as Stuart Town from 1888 to 1933.^[12]

No.	Government Resident (North_Australia)	From	To
1	Robert Weddell	1 March 1927	12 June 1931

No.	Government Resident (Central Australia)	From	To
1	John Cawood	1 March 1927	11 December 1929
2	Victor Carrington MBE	11 December 1929	12 June 1931

Administrator (1931 to present)

No.	Administrator	Post- Nominal	From	To
1	Robert Weddell		12 June 1931	29 March 1937
2	The Hon. Aubrey Abbott		29 March 1937	1 July 1946
3	Arthur Driver	BEM	1 July 1946	1 July 1951
4	The Hon. Frank Wise	AO	1 July 1951	1 July 1956
5	James Archer	OBE	1 July 1956	1 April 1961
6	Roger Nott	CBE	1 April 1961	1 October 1964
7	Roger Dean	CBE	1 October 1964	4 March 1970
8	The Hon. Sir Frederick Chaney	KBE AFC	4 March 1970	10 December 1973
9	John Norman Nelson		10 December 1973	1 June 1978
10	John England	CMG	1 June 1978	1 January 1981
11	Commodore Eric Johnston	AO OBE RAN	1 January 1981	1 July 1989
12	The Hon. James Muirhead	AC QC	1 July 1989	1 March 1993
13	The Hon. Austin Asche	AC QC	1 March 1993	17 February 1997
14	Dr. Neil Conn	AO	17 February 1997	28 November 2000
15	John Anictomatis	AO	28 November 2000	30 October 2003
16	Ted Egan	AO	31 October 2003	31 October 2007
17	Tom Pauling	AO QC	31 October 2007	31 October 2011
18	Sally Thomas	AM	31 October 2011	Present

Deputy of the Administrator (1997 to present)

The office of the Deputy of the Administrator was established in 1997.

No.	Deputy of the Administrator	From	To
1	Minna Sitzler AM	17 February 1997	30 November 2001
2	Pat Miller AO	20 September 2002	present