Victoria Cross for Australia
Trooper Mark Donaldson and his Victoria Cross for Australia medal.
Photo: Newspix.
One of two living Imperial Victoria Cross recipients, Keith Payne VC , with 8 yr old Matilda McLeish.
Photo:Pic. Lyndon Mechielsen. Newspix
The Victoria Cross for Australia is the pre-eminent award for acts of bravery in wartime and Australia's highest military honour.
It is awarded to persons who, in the presence of the enemy, display the most conspicuous gallantry; a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice; or extreme devotion to duty.
History
The Victoria Cross was created by Queen Victoria in 1856 and made retrospective to 1854 to cover the period of the Crimean War.
Until the Victoria Cross for Australia was created in 1991, Australians were eligible for the Victoria Cross and other awards under the Imperial system of honours.
The Imperial Victoria Cross has been awarded to ninety six Australians. Ninety one received the Victoria Cross while serving with Australian forces and five Australians received the award while serving with South African and British units.
Australians were first recognised for their gallantry in the Boer War and more recently during the Vietnam War.
Australians have been awarded the Victoria Cross in the following conflicts:
- 6 in the Boer War 1899-1902
- 64 in World War I 1914-1918
- 2 in North Russia 1919
- 20 in World War II 1939-1945
- 4 in Vietnam 1962-1972
Nine of the crosses awarded in World War I were for Australians at Gallipoli.
The first award of the Victoria Cross for Australia was made in 2009 for action in Afghanistan.
Victoria Cross for Australia
The Victoria Cross for Australia was instituted in the Australian honours system by Letters patent on 15 January 1991.
It replaced the British or Imperial Victoria Cross. Trooper Mark Donaldson VC was invested with the award of the Victoria Cross for Australia by the Governor-General at Government House on Friday 16 January 2009. While Trooper Mark Donaldson VC is the 97th Australian to be honoured with the VC, he is the first Australian to be honoured with the Victoria Cross for Australia.
Trooper Donaldson received this honour for his most conspicuous acts of gallantry in action in a circumstance of great peril in Afghanistan, as part of the Special Operations Task Group during Operations SLIPPER, Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
Past Recipients
Ninety seven Australians have been awarded the Victoria Cross. Ninety six Australians have been awarded the Imperial Victoria Cross and one Australian has been awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia.
The first Australian to be awarded the Imperial Victoria Cross was Captain Sir Neville Howse VC KCMG CB KStJ during the Boer War (1900). He also served in World War I and later as Commonwealth Minister for Health, Defence and Repatriation.
The last Australian to be awarded the Imperial Victoria Cross is Warrant Officer Keith Payne VC OAM for gallantry during the Vietnam War (24 May 1969). Under heavy enemy fire Payne instigated a daring rescue of more than forty men, many of them wounded, and led the party back to the battalion base.
Search the Australian Honours List for recipients of the Victoria Cross.
How it is awarded
The Governor-General awards the Victoria Cross, with the approval of the Sovereign, on the recommendation of the Minister for Defence.
The Victoria Cross may be awarded posthumously.
The post-nominal entitlement for the Victoria Cross is VC.
A subsequent award of the Victoria Cross to the same person is made as a bar to the Cross. They are also entitled to the post-nominal VC and Bar.
Print fact sheet
The information on this page is available as a printable fact sheet.
This factsheet is tailored to suit education resources for teachers/students. Please view the A-Z of Australian Awards for further information.
Note: For more information on PDF files and their use see the PDF
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