Celebrant (Australia) celebrancy was established by the Australian Commonwealth Attorney General Lionel Murphy on 19 July 1973, when his first appointee, Mrs Lois D'Arcy, was categorised as a Civil Marriage Celebrant. Later, as civil marriage celebrants branched out into the performance of other ceremonies such as Funerals and Namings the term was shortened to Civil Celebrant. According to civil celebrant Dally Messenger III: The civil celebrant program is almost entirely the result of one man's vision. Murphy himself told me the story of how he was opposed by his own staff, the public service, his fellow members of parliament and officials of
Celebrant (Australia) by the relevant government to perform legal civil marriages in a dignified and culturally acceptable manner, for those who do not choose a religious ceremony. Civil celebrants also serve people who have religious beliefs but do not wish to be married in a church, temple or mosque. In contrast to the established ceremonies of religious or registry office authorities, in celebrant ceremonies many decisions about the content are chosen by the couple. Therefore, the civil celebrant has come to be defined as a professionally trained ceremony-provider who works in accordance with the wishes of the client couple. The task may