Charles Latrobe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1st Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria | |
| In office 15 July 1851 – 5 May 1854 | |
| Monarch | Queen Victoria |
| Succeeded by | Sir Charles Hotham |
| 1st Superintendent ofPort Phillip | |
| In office 4 February 1839 – 14 July 1851 | |
| Governor | George Gipps Charles FitzRoy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801-03-20)20 March 1801 London, England |
| Died | 4 December 1875(1875-12-04) (aged 74) Litlington,East Sussex, England |
| Resting place | Litlington Church |
| Spouse(s) | Sophie de Montmollin (1835–1854) Rose Isabelle de Meuron (1855–1875) |
| Children | 6 |
| Parent |
|
Charles Joseph La TrobeCB (20 March 1801 – 4 December 1875), commonlyLatrobe, was appointed in 1839 superintendent of thePort Phillip District ofNew South Wales and, after the establishment in 1851 of thecolony of Victoria (now a state ofAustralia), he became its firstlieutenant-governor.[1]
La Trobe was a strong supporter of religious, cultural and educational institutions.[2][3] During his time as superintendent and lieutenant-governor he oversaw the establishment of theBotanic Gardens,[4] and provided leadership and support to the formation of entities such as theMechanic's Institute,[5] theRoyal Melbourne Hospital, theRoyal Philharmonic, theMelbourne Cricket Ground[6][7] and theUniversity of Melbourne.[2]
La Trobe was the nephew of British architectBenjamin Henry Latrobe.[citation needed]
Charles La Trobe was born in London, the son ofChristian Ignatius Latrobe, a leader of theMoravian Church, from a family of FrenchHuguenot descent, whose mother was a member of the Moravian Church born in the United States. He was educated in England and later spent time in Switzerland[8] and was active inmountaineering; he made a number of ascents in theAlps 1824–26. La Trobe wrote several travel books describing his experiences:The Alpenstock: Or Sketches of Swiss Scenery and Manners (1829) andThe Pedestrian: A Summer's Ramble in the Tyrol (1832).[9] Charles's uncle (Christian's brother) was the British-American "father of American architecture"[10]Benjamin Henry Latrobe who designed theWhite House porticos.
In 1832, he visited the United States along with CountAlbert Pourtales and, in 1834, travelled fromNew Orleans toMexico withWashington Irving.[1] He then wroteThe Rambler in North America (1835) andThe Rambler in Mexico (1836).[11]
On 16 September 1835, he married Sophie de Montmollin (1809–1854) inBerne,Switzerland. Their first child, Agnes Louisa de La Trobe, was born in Switzerland on 2 April 1837.
In 1837, La Trobe was entrusted with a government commission in theWest Indies and reported on the future education of the recently emancipated slaves.
On 4 February 1839,[12] he was appointed superintendent of thePort Phillip District ofNew South Wales, even though he had little managerial and administrative experience. With his wife and 2-year-old daughter, La Trobe sailed into Sydney on 26 July 1839, for training on procedures. The La Trobes went on toMelbourne on 1 October.
At auction, La Trobe bought12+1⁄2 acres (5.1 ha) of land on the fringe of the city, in what is now calledJolimont, at theupset price of £20 an acre, Melbourne residents having agreed among themselves not to bid against the superintendent.GovernorGeorge Gipps was disturbed when he heard about it, but La Trobe convinced him that he had acted innocently. On that land, La Trobe erected his home, which he had transported from London in sections, and which is preserved asLaTrobe's Cottage.
Melbourne had a population of around 3,000 at the time and was rapidly expanding[citation needed]. La Trobe commenced works to improve sanitation and streets.[11] As the Port Phillip District was a dependency of New South Wales, all land sales, building plans and officer appointments had to be approved by Gipps, with whom La Trobe had a good personal and working relationship.
_in_1875_(modified_version).jpg)
A Separation Association had been formed in 1840, with the aim of making the Port Phillip District a separate colony. In 1841, La Trobe wrote to Gipps, asking him to visit Melbourne to form his own opinion on the separation question.[11] La Trobe did not actively campaign for separation, being content thatEarl Grey had included separation in the reorganisation plan for the colonies.[8] La Trobe also acted as lieutenant-governor ofVan Diemen's Land for four months in 1846–47.
In July 1851, the Port Phillip achieved separation from New South Wales, becoming the colony ofVictoria, and La Trobe became lieutenant-governor – a position he held until 1854. Soon after separation, gold was discovered at several locations in Victoria. La Trobe suddenly had to deal with the mass exodus of the population of Melbourne to the gold fields, as well as the later arrival of thousands of immigrants from other Australian colonies and overseas.
He was commonly referred to as "Charley Joe", and by extension, any government officials or policemen were called "joes".[13] Having tried, with varying degrees of success, to cope with the enormous population and economic expansion of the new colony, La Trobe, who suffered self-doubt and criticism due to his inexperience, submitted his resignation in December 1852, but had to wait until a replacement,Charles Hotham, could take his place.
Towards the end of his governorship, La Trobe's wife, Sophie, became ill and returned to Europe with their four children. She died on 30 January 1854. On his return to Europe after his term, La Trobe married Sophie's sister, Rose Isabelle de Meuron (1821–1883) in 1855, a marriage which was illegal in English law, being considered incestuous at the time. (SeeDeceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907.) The couple had two daughters (born 1856 and 1859) in Switzerland and moved to England in 1861.[14] La Trobe did not receive any further British government appointments. His eyesight was increasingly deteriorating, and he was completely blind for the last years of his life.[citation needed] He died in 1875.
La Trobe is also linked to the discovery of a minor piece of evidence suggesting earlyEuropean exploration of Australia. In 1847, at Limeburners' Point nearGeelong,Victoria, Charles La Trobe, a keen amateur geologist, was examining the shells from a lime kiln when a worker showed him a set of five keys that he claimed to have found, subsequently named theGeelong Keys. La Trobe concluded that, based on their appearance, the keys were dropped onto the beach around 100 to 150 years beforehand (i.e. between 1700 and 1750). In 1977,Kenneth McIntyre hypothesized they were dropped by Portuguese sailors under the command ofCristóvão de Mendonça.[15] Since the keys have long been lost, their exact origin cannot be verified. However, research by geologistEdmund Gill and historian P.F.B. Alsop showed the deposit they were supposedly found in was 2330–2800 years old, making La Trobe's dating impossible.[16]
Much of Melbourne's substantial inner-ringparks and gardens can be attributed to La Trobe's foresight in reserving this land.[citation needed]
Melbourne and Victoria are dotted with things named in honour of La Trobe, includingLa Trobe Street,Latrobe River,La Trobe University,La Trobe Financial in theMelbourne central business district, andCharles La Trobe College in Melbourne's north east, the La Trobe Reading Room at theState Library of Victoria on La Trobe Street in the CBD, the federal electorate ofLa Trobe in Melbourne's outer east, theLatrobe Valley in southeastern Victoria,Mount LaTrobe inWilsons Promontory and, in Tasmania,Latrobe andLatrobe Council.
There are statues of La Trobe outside the State Library and at La Trobe University's Bundoora campus, the latter statue is notable for initially being upside-down in appearance, symbolising the notion that universities have a duty to "turn ideas on their head".[17]
The La Trobe Journal (founded 1968) is published by the State Library of Victoria. It is devoted toAustralasia, especially in connection with Victoria.
The family motto of La Trobe is used at La Trobe University for their own motto. The motto in English is "whoever seeks shall find".[18]
Theflowering plant genusLatrobea was named after him.[19]
He was a character in the 1949 filmEureka Stockade.[20]
The Native Police Corps as the Aboriginal force was known, was limited initially to one division in the Port Phillip District of the colony, around Melbourne.
In 1842, the formation of the Native Police Corps was halted due to funding problems.These issues delayed reformation of the corps until Superintendent Charles La Trobe indicated he was willing to underwrite the costs in 1842.[21]
Native Police Corps were primarily a force of armed and mounted Aboriginal police under the command of white officers. They were used to patrol the often vast geographical areas along the colonial frontier in order to conduct indiscriminate raids and punitive expeditions against Aboriginal people.[22] The Native Police proved to be a brutally destructive instrument in the disintegration and dispossession of Indigenous Australians.[22]
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| New office | Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria 1851–1854 | Succeeded by |
