Patron in Chief
His Excellency the Honourable Chris Dawson AC APM
Governor of Western Australia
His Excellency the Honourable Chris Dawson AC APM was sworn in as the 34th Governor of Western Australia on 15 July 2022.
The Dawson family have been part of the early colonial settlers over five generations of farming and law enforcement. The Governor's great-great-grandparents arrived in the then Swan River colony in Western Australia in 1830.
Christopher John Dawson AC APM was educated at Perth Modern School before joining the Western Australia Police Force in 1976, going on to provide 46 years of service in Australian law enforcement. He served in country and metropolitan positions, criminal investigation, training and senior roles. The Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2002 saw him awarded the Australian Police Medal for distinguished service.
After 10 years as Deputy Commissioner, he left WA for a national role in Canberra between 2014 to 2017 as Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Crime Commission, amalgamating several agencies into the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. He also served as Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology during this period.
He was appointed Commissioner of the Western Australia Police Force in August 2017, serving until July 2022. During the period of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Commissioner Dawson coordinated the State of Emergency and the Vaccine program.
He is married to Darrilyn Dawson, Education Consultant, with two married children and five grandchildren.
Patron
Dr Ken Michael AC
Dr Michael was born in Perth, Western Australia, the son of immigrants from the island of Castellorizo in Greece.
He studied at Imperial College London and was a former Commissioner of Main Roads WA, a chairman of the East Perth Redevelopment Authority, a member of the Economic Regulation Authority, and was the Chancellor of the University of Western Australia.
Dr Michael was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1996 and was elevated as a Companion in 2006. He was named Western Australian Citizen of the Year in 2001 and received the Centenary Medal in 2003 for service to the public, engineering and the Greek Community.
Dr Michael was Governor of Western Australia from 2006 until 2011.
In 2006 Michael was named the patron of the Fremantle Football Club, following in the footsteps of Lieutenant-General Sanderson who was also patron at Fremantle. He has been a member of the club since 1994 as an inaugural Quay Club member. Michael is also the state patron of The Boys’ Brigade and Chairman of the West Australian Cricket Association.
Michael was appointed Chair of the WACA Board in December 2016 and over his three-year tenure guided the transition of cricket to the new Optus Stadium, the development of the concept plans for the WACA Ground, the rise of the WA High Performance program to number one in the country and the growth of diversity within community cricket.