His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d) and Mrs Linda Hurley were elected the first Patrons of the Gallipoli Scholarship Fund in their private (rather than Vice Regal) capacity on 17th January 2019. His Excellency is now Australia’s Governor-General, having taken up the role on 1 July 2019 following a five year term as the 38th Governor of New South Wales.
Prior to his appointment as Governor, His Excellency served for 42 years in the Australian Army, concluding his service as the Chief of the Defence Force. His Excellency was appointed a Companion within the Order of Australia in 2010 for eminent service to the Australian Defence Force, and had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership during Operation SOLACE in Somalia in 1993.
His Excellency is married to Linda and has three adult children: Caitlin, Marcus and Amelia. He has a wide range of interests in the arts and in sport.
In his swearing in speech as Governor-General, His Excellency noted:
“Through speeches, supportive visits and acts of encouragement and recognition, the Governor-General can demonstrate to Australians their inherent strengths, their concern for the common good, their humanity, their desire for a ‘fair go’ and strength of character …
Australia is not a finished product. I look forward, with Linda, in working with you in exploring, discussing and shaping our nation’s future possibilities.
I am extremely proud of my country and greatly honoured to become its Governor-General today.”
Mrs Linda Hurley (nee McMartin) was born and raised in Sydney. She was educated at Kingsgrove High School and after attending Riverina College became a primary school teacher, commencing in 1976. She married David Hurley in 1977.
In the course of their married life, Mrs Hurley has supported her husband throughout his career on a wide variety of postings in Australia and overseas, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Malaysia.
Mrs Hurley’s career in education was in both the public and private school systems until her retirement from full time teaching in July 2011. She was an active member of the community as a Pastoral Carer at the Canberra Hospital and Hospice.
Mrs Hurley is a member and Patron of ‘Solid Rock’, a Christian Ministry to women in Defence. She has been a member of the St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church choir in Canberra and is a member of the Australian Military Wives Choir.
Mrs Hurley is dedicated to championing causes that are developing new technologies to recycle rubbish, and ways to reduce our use of plastic, particularly plastic packaging and plastics used for single-use items, which are not only harmful to the environment but add unnecessarily to landfill sites.
