James Rowland (RAAF Officer) - Governorship and Later Life

Governorship and Later Life

After leaving the Air Force, Rowland continued to live in Canberra, consulting part-time for French arms concern Ofema. In late 1980 he was recommended by the government of Premier Neville Wran to serve as the next Governor of New South Wales, replacing Sir Roden Cutler. Rowland admitted that he did not have "the faintest idea" why he was chosen, and thought that "there must be a lot of people who could do it a lot better than I could". However, he saw the role as the monarch's representative in New South Wales as helping to provide "a valuable link with an older part of the world". Wran, for his part, was understood to have chosen Rowland largely on the basis of his engaging personality; it was also said that the Premier preferred military men for vice-regal office because "they knew how to take orders". Rowland was duly appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 January 1981. Upon taking office, he declared that he wished to be seen as a "man of the people". To this end, he opened Government House to the public on a more frequent basis, and also extended invitations for official functions to a broader range of society than was previously the case.

As Governor of New South Wales and therefore the senior state governor, Rowland held a dormant commission to serve as Administrator of the Commonwealth and Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force during absences by the Governor General, and did so six times while in office. On one such occasion he was required to dismiss an old colleague, Air Vice Marshal James Flemming, from his position as director of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, after the Government lost faith in Flemming's ability to properly manage the Memorial. Rowland had served as one of Flemming's referees when he applied to head the Memorial in 1982. The journalist and public servant Evan Williams also credited Rowland with being "the first Viceregal whistleblower" for alerting the Wran government to an unusual number of early release requests for prisoners that he was being asked to sign by Corrective Services Minister Rex Jackson. The inquiries set in motion by Rowland's queries revealed that Jackson was receiving money from criminals for misusing the early release scheme. Forced to resign, Jackson was later charged with corruption and imprisoned.

Rowland was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Engineering by the University of Sydney in 1983, and also appointed a Knight of the Order of St John. On 26 January 1987, he was invested as a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for "service to the Crown and to the people of New South Wales". At Sydney Town Hall on 3 October that year, he took the salute of Vietnam veterans during their official "Welcome Home March". His governorship coincided with Australian Bicentenary celebrations in 1988. That November, he took a turn at flying one of the RAAF's recently acquired F/A-18 Hornets piloted by Wing Commander (later Air Vice Marshal) John Kindler. A popular Governor, Rowland was considered by his Labor premiers to be "a safe pair of hands". His original four-year term was extended twice, each time for two years, by the Wran and Unsworth administrations. He was succeeded on 20 January 1989 by Rear Admiral Sir David Martin. After retiring from the Governorship, Rowland served as President of the Royal Humane Society, Chancellor of the University of Sydney from 1990 to 1991, and as a member of the Police Board from 1989 to 1992. He was also a member of the boards of several private companies, including Angus & Coote and Thomson-CSF Pacific Holdings, and Chairman of the Aerospace Foundation of Australia from 1992 until his death in Sydney on 27 May 1999. Sir James Rowland was survived by his wife and daughter, and accorded a state funeral.