Sir Harold Murray Knight (13 August 191919 June 2015) was an Australian economist. He was the third

Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. Th ...

, serving from 1975 to 1982. He was educated at

Scotch College, Melbourne Scotch College is a private, Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college was established in 1851 as The Melbourne Academy in a house in Spri ...

(1933–1935) and

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...

where he was resident at Trinity College. He graduated with a Master of Commerce degree. During World War II, Knight enlisted in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

on 1 July 1940. In 1943, he transferred to the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve, where he served on the survey ship and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for distinguished service in successful survey work under dangerous conditions in the Far East. He was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) in the New Year's Day Honours of 1980. He was the grandfather of novelist Dominic Knight, and of artist

Jasper Knight Jasper Knight (born 25 December 1978) is an Australian artist. He is the brother of writer and presenter Dominic Knight, and grandson of Sir H. M. Knight. Knight has been a finalist eight times in the Archibald Prize from 2005, 2006, 2007, 2 ...

, whose portrait of him was shortlisted for the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

in 2006.

References

1919 births 2015 deaths People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) University of Melbourne alumni Australian economists Royal Australian Engineers officers Australian Army personnel of World War II Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Governors of the Reserve Bank of Australia Royal Australian Navy officers Military personnel from Melbourne {{Australia-economist-stub