Knights and Dames in Australia

Honours systems are used to reward service to the nation or great achievement. In Australia, the federal government website about honours says that honours help define, encourage and reinforce national aspirations, ideals and standards by identifying role models. Honours, it says, are given to recognise, celebrate and say thank you to those who make a difference, those who achieve their best and those who serve others.[1] Australias honours system, like those of other Commonwealth countries, is derived from that of Britain. Until 1975, Australians received honours entirely through the British honours system. At the top of that system, just below peerages, were the titular honours of knight and dame. These awards bestowed a title on the recipient, usually Sir or Dame. This article examines the shifting place of knighthoods and damehoods in the honours system in Australia, the eventual removal of titles from the honours system, and the changing patterns in the award of titles, as official recognitions of great service or achievement.