Sir Robert Herbert | |
|---|---|
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| 1st Premier of Queensland | |
| In office 10 December 1859 – 1 February 1866 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Macalister |
| In office 20 July 1866 – 7 August 1866 | |
| Preceded by | Arthur Macalister |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Macalister |
| Member of theQueensland Legislative Assembly forLeichhardt | |
| In office 4 May 1860 – 12 June 1863 Serving with Charles Royds | |
| Preceded by | New seat |
| Succeeded by | Gordon Sandeman |
| Member of theQueensland Legislative Assembly forWest Moreton | |
| In office 13 June 1863 – 7 August 1866 Serving with Benjamin Cribb,Joshua Peter Bell | |
| Preceded by | Henry Challinor |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Fleming |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1831-06-12)12 June 1831 Brighton,Sussex,England,United Kingdom |
| Died | 6 May 1905(1905-05-06) (aged 73) Ickleton,Cambridgeshire,England,United Kingdom |
Sir Robert George Wyndham Herbert,GCB (12 June 1831 – 6 May 1905), was the firstPremier ofQueensland, Australia. At 28 years and 181 days of age, he was the youngest person ever to become premier of an Australian state.[1]
Born inBrighton, England, on 12 June 1831,[2] Herbert was the only son of the Hon.Algernon Herbert, a younger son of the firstEarl of Carnarvon.[3] He was educated atEton andBalliol College, Oxford. He won a Balliol scholarship in 1849 and, subsequently, the Hertford and Ireland scholarships. He took a first-class inClassical Moderations, won the Latin verse prize in 1852, and obtained second-class final honours in the classical school. He was electedFellow of All Souls in 1854, and wasEldon law scholar. In 1855, he became private secretary toWilliam Ewart Gladstone and was called to the bar of theInner Temple in 1858.[4][5]
When Queensland was formed into a separate colony, SirGeorge Bowen was appointed the first governor. He arrived at Brisbane on 10 December 1859 and brought Herbert with him as his private secretary. On the day of the governor's arrival, Herbert was gazetted as colonial secretary, withRatcliffe Pring as attorney-general. These with the governor formed an executive council to which additions were made afterwards. At theelection held early in 1860, Herbert was returned unopposed for one of theLeichhardt seats in theLegislative Assembly of Queensland, and became the firstPremier of Queensland. He showed himself to be a good leader and held office from December 1859 to February 1866.[4]
During his time as Premier, four land acts were passed, and the education question was also the subject of early measures. The governor, in writing to the secretary of state, stated that the Queensland parliament "had passed a greater number of really useful measures than any other parliament in any of the Australian colonies". Certainly, the first Queensland government was in marked contrast to those of the other colonies, each of which averaged half a dozen ministries in the same period. However, Herbert fell into some disfavour when financial difficulties arose. He resigned in February 1866 and was succeeded byArthur Macalister who served as premier until 20 July 1866. Herbert was anxious to return to England on account of private business but, at the request of the governor, formed a ministry which lasted less than three weeks and before being merged into the second Macalister ministry. Herbert then left for England, having gained the sort of experience which was to be very useful to him in later years.[4]
A few months after Herbert's arrival in England, he was appointed Assistant-Secretary to theBoard of Trade. In 1870 was made Assistant Under-Secretary for the Colonies, while his relative,Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, was the serving Secretary of State and, in 1871, becamePermanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. He held that position with great distinction for 21 years. In 1899/1900 he briefly took on the role as Acting Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies because of illness toSir Edward Wingfield.[6] His attitude was generally conciliatory and he was tactful in dealing with men who came in contact with him.
In 1882, he was created K.C.B. and, in 1892, G.C.B. In the same year, he was appointed chancellor of theOrder of St Michael and St George. He left the Colonial Office in 1892, but afterwards took up his duties again for a few months at the special request ofJoseph Chamberlain. In 1893–6, he was agent-general for Tasmania, and did active work in connection with the formation of theBritish Empire League. In December 1903, he was chairman of the tariff commission.[5]
In later years, Robert Herbert suffered from heart trouble. Believing his health would benefit from a sea voyage, he went for a cruise in the Mediterranean. He met his sister inMarseilles, France, where his health worsened and he returned immediately to England. He was taken in an ambulance railway car on theGreat Eastern Railway to his residence atIckleton, Cambridgeshire, where he died on 6 May 1905.[5]
Robert Herbert met his companion,John Bramston, atBalliol CollegeOxford University, England in the early 1850s. The pair shared rooms at Oxford, and also in London.[1] When Herbert was Premier of Queensland, and Bramston his Attorney-General, the two created a farm on what is now the site of theRoyal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. They named the farmhouse in which they both lived"Herston", a combination of their names, which is now the name ofthe modern day suburb.
Herbert never married, and modern historians, such asRobert Aldrich, Clive Moore, Robert French, and Garry Wotherspoon, conclude that he was likely gay.[1][7][8][9][10] In 1864, Herbert gave this explanation as to why he had not married: "It does not seem to me reasonable to tell a man who is happy and content, to marry a woman who may turn out a great disappointment."[1]
Herston became the name of a modern-dayBrisbane suburb surrounding the site of theRoyal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.
TheHerbert River is located inFar North Queensland,Australia. The southernmost of Queensland's wet tropics river systems, it was named in 1864 by the explorerGeorge Elphinstone Dalrymple after Robert Herbert.[11]
The Queenslandfederal electorate of Herbert, one of theoriginal 65 divisions contested at thefirst federal election, was named after him.
Governor George Bowen, Queensland's first Governor, appointed Sir Robert George Wyndham Herbert as first Colonial Secretary of Queensland before leaving England in 1859. This document was ranked #5 in the 'Top 150: Documenting Queensland' exhibition when it toured to venues around Queensland from February 2009 to April 2010.[12] The exhibition was part ofQueensland State Archives' events and exhibition program which contributed to the state's Q150 celebrations, marking the 150th anniversary of theseparation of Queensland from New South Wales.[13]
Media related toRobert Herbert at Wikimedia Commons
| Parliament of Queensland | ||
|---|---|---|
| New division | Member forLeichhardt 1860–1863 Served alongside:Charles Royds | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member forWest Moreton 1863–1866 Served alongside:Benjamin Cribb,Joshua Peter Bell | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| New title | Premier of Queensland 1859 – 1866 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Arthur Macalister | Premier of Queensland 1866 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies 1871 – 1892 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | Agent-General for Tasmania 1893–1896 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | High Sheriff of the County of London 1899 – 1900 | Succeeded by |
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