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History of the Consulate in New York
Australian Representation in New York
In September 1918, during the closing days of World War I, the Commonwealth Government of Australian appointed Sir Henry Braddon the first Commissioner for Australia in the United States based in New York. A series of distinguished Australians - including Sir Mark Sheldon, Hon Donald Mackinnon, Sir James Elder and Mr Herbert Brookes - held the position of Commissioner, and later Commissioner General, up until 1936, while the British Ambassador was Australia's diplomatic representative in Washington.
During World War II, Australia finally established full independent diplomatic relations with the United States with the opening of the Australian Embassy in Washington. By the end of the War, Australia maintained a number of separate offices in New York including a Trade Commission, Customs Office, Finance Division, News and Information Division, Library and War Supplies Procurement. In 1945, Australia's Minister for External Affairs, Dr HV Evatt, approved the consolidation of these offices into a newly established Consulate General which opened in November of that year.
By 1956, the staff of the Consulate General had grown to 86, making it the largest of any Australian External Affairs post.
In 1997, after more than sixty years located on Fifth Avenue opposite Saint Patrick's Cathedral, the Consulate General moved out of the prestigious Rockefeller Center and co-located with Austrade, Invest Australia and the Australian Mission to the United Nations in new, more efficient offices at 150 East 42nd Street.
Consul Generals
1945-1949 C.V. Kellway
1949-1956 E.K. Smart
1955-1956 H.S. Barett (Acting)
1956-1961 Josiah Francis
1961-1966 A.R. Cutler
1966-1970 Sir Reginald Sholl
1968-1970 Frank C Murray
1970-1973 Sir John Bates
1974-1976 Sir John Wilton, KBE, CB, CBE
1975-1978 Peter Barbour
1978-1982 Sir Robert Cotton
1982-1984 G.D. Cordner
1984-1988 John C Taylor
1988-1992 Chris J Hurford
1992-1994 Peter J Curtis
1994-1996 Jim C Humphreys
1996-2001 Michael Baume AO
2001 - 2006 Ken Allen AM
2006 - Present John Olsen