Sir Ian Graham Turbott AO CMG CVO (9 March 1922 – 11 August 2016) was a New Zealand-Australian diplomat and university administrator.

Sir Ian Turbott
Administrator of Antigua
In office
1958–1964
MonarchQueen Elizabeth II
Prime MinisterVere Bird (1960–1964)
Preceded byAlec Lovelace
Succeeded byDavid Rose
Administrator of Grenada
In office
1964 – 3 March 1967
MonarchQueen Elizabeth II
Prime MinisterHerbert Blaize
Preceded byLionel Achille Pinard
Succeeded byOffice changed to Governor
Governor of Grenada
In office
1967–1968
MonarchQueen Elizabeth II
PremierHerbert Blaize (March–August 1967)
Eric Gairy (August 1967–1968
Preceded byNew creation
Succeeded byHilda Bynoe
Personal details
Born
Ian Graham Turbott

(1922-03-09)9 March 1922
Whangārei, New Zealand
Died11 August 2016(2016-08-11) (aged 94)
RelationsGraham Turbott (brother)
Alma materAuckland University College
Jesus College, Cambridge
Military service
Allegiance New Zealand
Branch/serviceNew Zealand Army
Years of service1940–46
RankCaptain
UnitNew Zealand Expeditionary Force
Battles/warsWorld War II

Early life and education

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Turbott was born in Whangārei, New Zealand, and attended Takapuna Grammar School. He later studied at Auckland University College and Jesus College, Cambridge. He served six years in the New Zealand Army as part of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force during World War II, including service in Italy, the South Pacific and south-west Asia. He left the army with the rank of captain.[1][2][3]

Working life

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After leaving uniformed service, Turbott joined the British Colonial Service with an appointment to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. After a secondment to the British Colonial Office, he served as Administrator of Antigua between 1958 and 1964. In 1964 he was appointed Administrator of Grenada, continuing in the role after it became a governorship in 1967. He left Grenada in 1968. After two years in Britain, he emigrated to Australia, where he entered business. Between 1989 and 2000 Turbott served as chancellor of the University of Western Sydney.[1][2][4]

Turbott was the honorary consul-general for the Cook Islands in New South Wales from 1995 until his death.[5][6]

Community

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Turbott was appointed (1982–1954) as both the NSW chair of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award – Australia and a national board director. [1]

Honours

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Turbott was made a knight bachelor in the 1968 British New Year's Honours List.[7] In 1985 he was named Australian Father of the Year.[8]

Personal life

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Turbott met his future wife, Nancy Lantz, on Christmas Eve 1951 when a Pan Am Boeing Stratocruiser on which she was a flight attendant landed on Canton Island, where he was stationed.[9][10][11] They married soon after in the United States. Together they had three daughters.[12] He died on 11 August 2016.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b Turbott - Ian Graham. Debrett's People Of Today. 2000.
  2. ^ a b McLintock, A. H., ed. (1966). "Turbott, Ian Graham". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Jungle Fighters Halt Race To Chase Japs". The Milwaukee Journal. 16 February 1944. Retrieved 28 January 2015 – via Google Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Ian Turbott, Foundation Chancellor". University of Western Sydney. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Foreign embassies and consulates in Australia - Cook Islands". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Meitaki maata, aere ra Sir Ian Turbott". Cook Islands News. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  7. ^ "No. 44484". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1967. p. 2.
  8. ^ Beaumont, Janise (25 August 1985). "Around the traps". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 January 2015 – via Google Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ Turbott, Ian (2000). Nancy My Beloved. Book House, Sydney.
  10. ^ Turbott, Ian (1996). Lands of Sun and Spice. Fast Books, Sydney.
  11. ^ Gill, B (2016). Booby eggs and a solar eclipse. In: The Unburnt Egg. More Stories of a Museum Curator. Awa Press, Wellington. pp. 77–91. ISBN 978-1-927249-29-1.
  12. ^ "Obituaries - Lady (Nancy) Turbott". The Age. 20 October 1999. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  13. ^ "Obituaries - Sir Ian Turbott". 12 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
Academic offices
New title Chancellor of the University of Western Sydney
1989 – 2000
Succeeded by
John Phillips