Sir Henry Barkly | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 4th Governor of British Guiana | |
| In office 24 February 1849 – 11 May 1853 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | Henry Light |
| Succeeded by | SirPhilip Wodehouse |
| Governor of Jamaica | |
| In office 1853–1856 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | Charles Edward Grey |
| Succeeded by | Charles Henry Darling |
| 2nd Governor of Victoria | |
| In office 26 December 1856 – 10 September 1863 | |
| Preceded by | SirCharles Hotham |
| Succeeded by | SirCharles Henry Darling |
| 10th Governor of Mauritius | |
| In office 21 August 1863 – 3 June 1870 | |
| Preceded by | SirWilliam Stevenson |
| Succeeded by | SirArthur Hamilton-Gordon |
| 14th Governor of Cape Colony | |
| In office 31 December 1870 – 31 March 1877 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | Sir Philip Wodehouse |
| Succeeded by | SirHenry Frere |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1815-02-24)24 February 1815 Highbury,Middlesex, England, UK |
| Died | 20 October 1898(1898-10-20) (aged 83) South Kensington, London, England, UK |
| Resting place | Brompton Cemetery |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Helen Timins (1840–1857) Anne Maria Pratt (1860–1898) |
Sir Henry BarklyGCMG KCB FRS FRGS (24 February 1815 – 20 October 1898) was a British politician, colonial governor and patron of the sciences.
Born on 24 February 1815 atHighbury,Middlesex (now London), he was the eldest son of Susannah Louisa (born ffrith) and Æneas Barkly, a Scottish bornWest India merchant.[1] He was educated atBruce Castle School inTottenham, where the school's particular curriculum endowed him with a lifetime interest in science and statistics.[2]
Upon completing his schooling and studies in commerce, Barkly worked for his father. The Barkly family had several connections with theWest Indies: Barkly's mother, Susannah Louisa, whose maiden name was ffrith, was the daughter of aJamaica planter; his father's company was concerned with trade in the West Indies; and the family owned an estate inBritish Guiana.[2]
According to theLegacies of British Slave-ownership database Barkly's father was compensated £132,000 from the Imperial Parliament for the emancipation of some 4,440 slaves in 1834.[3] Barkly inherited his father's estate in 1836 at the age of 20. He was awarded two of the compensation claims following his father's death.[4] He remained involved in the partnership until 1843.[5]
Barkly was elected to theHouse of Commons at aby-election on 26 April 1845 as one of the twoMembers of Parliament (MPs) for theborough Leominster.[6]He was returned unopposed,[7] andThe Times observed that his election address did not render voters "much wiser" about his political views.[8]
As aPeelite, one of the supporters ofPrime MinisterRobert Peel, Barkly found himself adrift with few political prospects when Peel was overthrown, and he gratefully accepted the governorship ofBritish Guiana when the post was offered by his Liberal opponents in 1848.[2]
Barkly was sworn in asGovernor and Commander-in-Chief of British Guiana on 12 February 1849. His family connections with British Guiana and theWest Indies in general served him well as governor of the colony, and promptedLord Grey, theSecretary of State for War and the Colonies, to refer to his "remarkable skill and ability" in addressing the colony's economic issues by widening the franchise of theCollege of Kiezers and introducingindentured servants from Asia.[2]
In 1853, he was transferred toJamaica and served three years as itsgovernor and captain-general.[9]
In November 1856, Barkly was appointedGovernor of Victoria, Australia, arriving in Melbourne on 24 December 1856. He achieved one of his main goals of stable government with the appointment of theJames McCulloch ministry. He was noted for his support of philanthropic and intellectual movements. He was a founder and president of theRoyal Society of Victoria, 1860–63, and helped to found theNational Gallery of Victoria, theAcclimatization society of Victoria and theMelbourne Observatory.[10]
He was appointed 10thGovernor of Mauritius from 26 November 1863 to 4 June 1870.[11]
In August 1870 he was sent to theCape Colony asgovernor and as BritishHigh Commissioner for Southern Africa. He helped to implementresponsible government in the Cape and worked closely withJohn Molteno, its first electedPrime Minister. He served in South Africa until 1877, and played an important role in assisting the early growth of the Cape Liberal tradition. He was also influential in supporting the local resistance againstLord Carnarvon's attempt to unite the region's states into afederation (inspired by the success of theCanadian Confederation). Crucially, he shared with the Cape government the belief that the Cape's non-racial constitution was still fragile and that it was "impossible that the Cape's native laws would survive a session of bargaining with theBoer republics. Federation in 1875 would have produced the same results as Union did in 1910... Barkly was undoubtedly right to foster the nucleus of a Liberal party which was forming around Molteno. Liberal democracy was a tender plant in the climate of South Africa, but it had taken root in the Cape, and it was only the insensitive handling of Downing Street which prevented it growing, as Barkly hoped, into a force which would have been strong enough to control the other tendencies in South African politics."[12]
He was involved with theRoyal Commission on Colonial Defence in 1879.
He died inBrompton, Kensington, London, on 20 October 1898 and is buried inBrompton Cemetery.
In 1840, he married Elizabeth Helen, the second daughter of J. F. Timins.[9] Elizabeth was an artist and botanical collector who collected with her husband and undertook illustrations for him.[13] She died in 1857 leaving him with their daughter Emily.[13] Emily was also a botanical artist, drawing illustrations for her father and collecting botanical specimens.[14][15] Barkly was remarried to the botanistAnne Maria Pratt, the daughter ofThomas Simson Pratt, three years after the death of his first wife.[16][17] His oldest sonArthur Cecil Stuart Barkly (1843–1890) was his father's private secretary in Mauritius and the Cape, and went on to become the last British governor ofHeligoland.[2]
Henry Barkly was awarded a Knight of theOrder of the Bath on 18 July 1853, just prior to his appointment as Governor of Jamaica. He was made a Fellow of theRoyal Society (FRS) in 1864, and of theRoyal Geographical Society (FRGS) in 1870. He was made aGCMG on 9 March 1874.
The Navarre diggings, a small Victorian gold field was namedBarkly on 1 November 1861 in his honour.[18]
The South African towns ofBarkly East andBarkly West, and theBarkly Pass are named after him.[19]
Several notable streets were named after him including a main civic street inBallarat East named Barkly Street for him in 1858[20] along with the main street ofArarat, Victoria also named Barkly Street.[21] Barkly Street inMentone, Victoria was named for him though later renamed Rogers Street.[22] TheBarkly River, located in thealpine region of Victoria, within theAlpine National Park, is named in honour of Barkly. The bell atop the tower of the Ballarat Fire Brigade, on the corner of Barkly & East streets, Ballarat East was christened the "Lady Barkly" by the brigades Captain in August 1863.
theBarkly Tableland a region in the Central Eastern part of the Northern Territory which extends into Western Queensland was named by explorerWilliam Landsborough in December 1861 in honour of Barkly.
theBarkly Highway which extends from Threeways in theNorthern Territory toMount Isa inQueensland which runs through theBarkly Tableland was also named in honour of Barkly.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forLeominster 1845–1849 With:George Arkwright | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of British Guiana 1849–1853 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Jamaica 1853–1856 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Victoria 1856–1863 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Mauritius 1863–1870 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Cape Colony 1870–1877 | Succeeded by |
| BeforeFederation |  | |
|---|---|---|
| AfterFederation | ||
