Gordon Reid

Gordon Stanley Reid (22 September 1923 – 26 October 1989) was an Australian academic who served as the 26th Governor of Western Australia. He grew up in Hurstville, Sydney, before enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force, where he served as a flying officer during the Second World War. After the conclusion of the war, Reid studied at the London School of Economics in England and the University of Oxford. He served as the vice-chancellor of the University of Western Australia from 1978 to 1982. Appointed governor in 1984, he served in the position until 1989, resigning a month before his death.

Early life and education Gordon Stanley Reid was born on 22 September 1923 in Hurstville, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. He was educated at Hurstville Central Technical School from 1934 to 1937, before passing the Commonwealth Public Service entrance examination and starting work at 14 as a telegram messenger at Cronulla Post Office.

After being demobbed and returning to Australia, Reid worked as a reading clerk, accountant, and clerk of papers. He was clerk of records for the Australian House of Representatives from 1952 to 1955, and was Serjeant-at-Arms at Parliament House, Canberra while studying for his commerce degree.

He then travelled to England where he obtained his master's and his Doctor of Philosophy degrees at the London School of Economics. He won a Nuffield Scholarship.

Academia and writing Reid was appointed senior lecturer in politics and public administration at the University of Adelaide in 1958, where he stayed until 1965. The politics of financial control (1966) Out of the wilderness: the return of Labor (1974) The Western Australian elections (1974) The premiers of Western Australia, 1890–1982 (1982)

As part of the Australian parliament's bicentenary publications project, Reid, assisted by Martin Forrest, was commissioned to write a history of the parliament.

Recognition and honours In 1986, Reid was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for public service, for service to learning and to the Crown.

Personal life Ruth Reid

Reid married Ruth Amelia Fish, a bank cashier, on 30 June 1945 at Earlsfield Congregational Church in Wandsworth, London. They had two daughters and two sons.

Among her numerous honours were the following: 1 January 2001: Centenary Medal, for service to the community of Western Australia 1998: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from UWA 2000: Western Australian Citizen of the Year, for her work in community service

A portrait painted in oils by Linda van der Merwe is held by the City of Wanneroo art collection.

On her 100th birthday on 17 February 2021, she was joined by Governor Kim Beazley, who brought her a congratulatory message. She died in January 2024, aged 102.

In 1993, a minor planet discovered by Perth Observatory in 1978 was officially named after Gordon and Ruth Reid, as Minor Planet Reid (no.3422). It is located in the asteroid belt, around 460 million kilometres from the sun.

Papers collected by Reid and his research assistants while researching the history of the Commonwealth Parliament between 1987 and 1988 are held at the National Library of Australia. The files contain notes, articles, newspaper cuttings, and printed materials, along with photocopies of primary resources dating from as far back as 1861.