Sir Maurice Charles Philip O'ConnellKCH (1768 – 25 May 1848) was a commander of forces andlieutenant-governor of colonialNew South Wales.[1]
Maurice Charles O'Connell was born in Ireland in 1768. He had had a distinguished career in the army. His family the Tarmon branch of the O’Connell clan of Kerry, Munster were cousins to the Derrynane O’Connell family, such as Daniel O’Connell MP.[citation needed]
In 1809, he came with the newly appointedGovernor of New South WalesMacquarie toSydney in charge of the73rd Regiment of Foot. There, in May 1810, O'Connell hastily married widowMary Putland, the daughter of the deposed former governorWilliam Bligh, shortly before Bligh's return to England.
O'Connell also had a commission asLieutenant-Governor, and so acted when Macquarie was absent inTasmania in the latter part of 1812. O'Connell was then on good terms with Macquarie, who, in November of that year, strongly recommended that his salary should be considerably increased.
Although William Bligh had departed, his daughter, now Mary O'Connell, had not forgiven those who had deposed her father, creating tensions between her husband and others in the colony. O'Connell became involved in the quarrel and in August 1813 Macquarie in a dispatch toLord Bathurst stated that,"though lieutenant-colonel O'Connell is naturally a very well disposed man . . . it would greatly improve the harmony of the country . . . if the whole of the officers and men of the 73 regiment were removed from it".
On 26 March 1814 O'Connell and his regiment were transferred toCeylon. He attained the rank of major-general in 1830 and was knighted in 1835.
In 1838, Maurice O'Connell returned to Sydney in command of the forces and was appointed a member of theNew South Wales Legislative Council.[2] He was senior member of the executive council when, the question of the rights of Bligh's daughters to certain land granted to Bligh in 1806 having been again raised,Governor Gipps found himself in an extremely delicate position. The matter was settled by compromise in 1841.
O'Connell was acting-governor of New South Wales from 12 July to 2 August 1846.
Maurice O'Connell died in Sydney on 25 May 1848,[3] and received a full military funeral atSt James' Church.[4]
O'Connell, New South Wales was named after him byGeorge Evans, when Evans followed the route ofBlaxland,Lawson, andWentworth in crossing theBlue Mountains[5] as were streets inSydney,Melbourne andNorth Adelaide.
His son, SirMaurice Charles O'Connell, was also a member of the Legislative Council (1845–1849) and then a member of theQueensland Legislative Council (1860–1879).[6]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales 1810–1814 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by SirJohn Waters | Colonel of the81st Regiment of Foot (Loyal Lincoln Volunteers) 1842–1844 | Succeeded by |