At a conference of the Samuel Griffith Society in August 2014 Sir David Smith KCVO, AO delivered a paper entitled “The Order of Australia: In the Beginning”. To crib from the title of Dean Acheson’s second volume of memoirs Sir David had been “present at the Creation”. As Official Secretary to five Governors-General from 1973 to 1990, he was closely involved in the establishment of that Order in 1975 and was its Secretary for fifteen years until his retirement in 1990.