Previous Chiefs of Navy
The following list chronologically records those who have held the post of Chief of Navy. Note: List excludes some Royal Navy personnel appointed First Naval Member (now known as Chief of Navy Australia).
List of Previous Chiefs of Navy
(1982-1985)
Vice Admiral David Willoughby Leach
Vice Admiral David Willoughby Leach AC, CBE, LVO served as Chief of the Naval Staff from 1982 to 1985. Leach was born on 17 July 1928 in Perth, Western Australia. Cadet Midshipman Leach joined the...
(1979-1982)
Vice Admiral Guido James Willis
Guido James Willis, known as James, was born on 18 October 1923, in Learmonth, Victoria. He attended Wesley College, Melbourne, where his father and grandfather had both been educated, and in 1937 he...
(1976-1979)
Admiral Sir Anthony Monckton Synnot
Anthony Monckton Synnot was born on 5 January 1922 at Corowa, New South Wales. While he was young the family moved to Albury, New South Wales and then to a remote sheep property at Eskdale, near...
(1973-1976)
Vice Admiral Sir Hugh David Stevenson
Hugh David Stevenson was born in The Valley, a suburb of Brisbane on 24 August 1918 to the Reverend William Henry and Katherine Stevenson. His father was the Rector of Holy Trinity Church and later...
(1970-1973)
Vice Admiral Sir Richard Innes Peek
Richard Innes Peek was born on July 30 1914 at West Tamworth, NSW, and entered the Royal Australian Naval College in 1928, where he passed out with top marks. He completed his initial training with...
(1968-1970)
Admiral Sir Victor Alfred Trumper Smith
Victor Alfred Trumper Smith was born in Sydney on 9 May 1913. He was named after his uncle, Victor Albert Trumper, the great Australian cricketer. He entered the Royal Australian Naval College in...
(1965-1968)
Vice Admiral Sir Alan Wedel Ramsay McNicoll
Alan Wedel Ramsay McNicoll was born on 3 April 1908 at Hawthorn, Melbourne, second son of Victorian-born parents (Sir) Walter Ramsay McNicoll, civil servant, and his wife Hildur Marschalck, née Wedel...
(1962-1965)
Vice Admiral Sir Wilfred Hastings Harrington
Wilfred Hastings ('Arch') Harrington was born on 17 May 1906 at Maryborough, Queensland, second child of native-born parents Hubert Ernest Harrington, solicitor, and his wife Laura Irene, née Barton...
(1959-1962)
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Mackay Burrell
Henry Mackay Burrell was born on 13 August 1904 at Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, the third of five children and the only son. He was educated at Parramatta High School and entered the Royal...
(1955-1959)
Vice Admiral Sir Roy Russell Dowling
Roy Russell Dowling was born on 28 May 1901 at Condong, on the Tweed River, NSW. He was the sixth child of Russell Dowling, sugar-cane inspector, and his wife Lily Jane (née Ingram). In 1915 Dowling...
