*** Welcome to piglix ***

James Rowland (Australia)

Air Marshal
Sir James Rowland
AC, KBE, DFC, AFC
Formal head-and-shoulders portrait of man in blue military uniform and peaked cap
Official RAAF portrait of Air Marshal Rowland
33rd Governor of New South Wales
In office
20 January 1981 – 20 January 1989
Monarch Queen Elizabeth II
Premier Neville Wran (1981–86)
Barrie Unsworth (1986–88)
Nick Greiner (1988–89)
Preceded by Sir Roden Cutler
Succeeded by Sir David Martin
Personal details
Born James Anthony Rowland
(1922-11-01)1 November 1922
Armidale, New South Wales
Died 27 May 1999(1999-05-27) (aged 76)
Sydney, New South Wales
Nationality Australian
Profession Air Force officer
Military service
Allegiance Australia
Service/branch Royal Australian Air Force
Years of service 1942–79
Rank Air Marshal
Unit No. 635 Squadron RAF
Commands ARDU (1956–59)
No. 3 Aircraft Depot (1966–69)
Technical Services Branch
(1972–75)
Chief of the Air Staff
(1975–79)
Battles/wars World War II
Awards Companion of the Order of Australia
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Flying Cross
Air Force Cross
Viceregal styles of
Sir James Rowland
Crest featuring crown atop white disk with red cross, and lion in centre
Reference style His Excellency
Spoken style Your Excellency
Alternative style Sir

Air Marshal Sir James Anthony (Jim) Rowland, AC, KBE, DFC, AFC (1 November 1922 – 27 May 1999) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), serving as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) from 1975 to 1979. He later held office as Governor of New South Wales from 1981 to 1989, and was Chancellor of the University of Sydney from 1990 to 1991. Born in rural New South Wales, Rowland cut short his aeronautical engineering studies at the University of Sydney to join the RAAF in 1942. He was posted to Britain and served as a bomber pilot with the Pathfinders in the air war over Europe, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1944. The following year he was forced to bail out over Germany following a collision with another Allied aircraft, and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner.

After repatriation and demobilisation, Rowland gained his engineering degree and rejoined the RAAF. He became a test pilot, serving with and later commanding the Aircraft Research and Development Unit in the 1950s, and also a senior engineering officer, being closely involved in preparations for delivery to Australia of the Dassault Mirage III supersonic fighter in the 1960s. In 1972 he was promoted to air vice marshal and became Air Member for Technical Services, holding this post until his elevation to air marshal and appointment as CAS in March 1975. He was the first engineering officer to lead the RAAF, and the first man to personally command it in a legal sense, following abolition of the Australian Air Board in 1976. Knighted in 1977, Rowland retired from the Air Force in 1979 and became Governor of New South Wales in January 1981. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1987. Retiring from the Governorship in 1989, he held a place on several boards as well as the Chancellorship of the University of Sydney.


...
Wikipedia

...