Henry Barkly

Infobox Officeholder
name = Sir Henry Barkly


imagesize =
small

caption =
order = 4th
office = Governor of British Guiana
term_start = 12 February 1849
term_end = 11 May 1853
predecessor = Henry Light
successor = Philip Wodehouse
order2 =
office2 = Governor of Jamaica
term_start2 = 1853
term_end2 = 1856
predecessor2 = Charles Edward Grey
successor2 = Charles Henry Darling
order3 = 2nd
office3 = Governor of Victoria
term_start3 = 26 December 1856
term_end3 = 10 September 1863
predecessor3 = Sir Charles Hotham
successor3 = Sir Charles Darling
order4 = 10th
office4 = Governor of Mauritius
term_start4 = 21 August 1863
term_end4 = 3 June 1870
predecessor4 = Sir William Stevenson
successor4 = Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon
order5 = 14th
office5 = Governor of Cape Colony
term_start5 = 31 December 1870
term_end5 = 31 March 1877
predecessor5 = Sir Philip Wodehouse
successor5 = Sir Henry Frere
birth_date = birth date|1815|2|24|df=y
birth_place = Highbury, Middlesex, England, UK
death_date = death date and age|1898|10|20|1815|2|24|df=y
death_place = South Kensington, London, England, UK
restingplace = Brompton Cemetery
restingplacecoordinates =
birthname =
nationality = British
party =
otherparty =
spouse = Elizabeth Helen Timins (1840–1857)
Anne Maria Pratt (1860–1898)

Sir Henry Barkly, GCMG, KCB, FRS, FRGS (24 February 1815 – 20 October 1898) was a British politician, colonial governor and patron of the sciences.

Early life and education

Barkly was born in 1815 at Highbury, Middlesex (now London). He was educated at Bruce Castle in Tottenham, where the school's particular curriculum endowed him with a lifetime interest in science and statistics.John Benyon, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/1424 ‘Barkly, Sir Henry (1815–1898)’] , "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 29 Aug 2008.]

Upon completing his schooling and studies in commerce, Barkly worked for his father, Aeneas Barkly, a Scottish trader. The Barkly family had several connections with the West Indies: Barkly's mother, Susannah Louisa, née ffrith, was the daughter of a Jamaican planter; his father's company was concerned with trade in the West Indies; and the family owned an estate in British Guiana.

Political career

On 26 April 1845, Barkly was elected in a by-election as one of two Members of Parliament for the constituency of Leominster in the British House of Commons. As a Peelite, one of the supporters of Prime Minister Robert Peel, Barkly found himself adrift with few political prospects when Peel was overthrown, and he gratefully accepted the governorship of British Guiana when the post was offered by his Liberal opponents in 1848.

Governorships

Governor of British Guiana

Barkly was sworn in as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of British Guiana on 12 February 1849. His family connections with British Guiana and the West Indies in general served him well as governor of the colony, and prompted Lord Grey, the Secretary 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 the College of Kiezers and introducing indentured servants from Asia.

Governor of Jamaica

He then served three years as Governor of Jamaica (1853-1856).

Governor of Victoria

In November 1856 Barkly was appointed governor of Victoria, Australia, arriving in Melbourne on 24 December 1856. He achieved one of his main goals of stable government with the appointment of the James McCulloch ministry. He was noted for his support of philanthropic and intellectual movements. He was a founder and president of the Royal Society of Victoria, 1860-63, and helped to found the National Gallery of Victoria, the Acclimatization Society and the National Observatory.B. A. Knox, ' [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A030093b.htm Barkly, Sir Henry (1815 - 1898)] ', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3, MUP, 1969, pp 95-96.]

Governor of Mauritius and the Cape Colony

In 1863 he was appointed Governor of Mauritius, and in August 1870 he was sent to the Cape of Good Hope as Governor of Cape Colony and as British High Commissioner for Southern Africa. He served in South Africa until 1877. He was involved with the Royal Commission on Colonial Defence in 1879.

He died in Brompton, Kensington, London on 20 October 1898 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery.

Honours

Henry Barkly was knighted KCB on 18 July 1853, just prior to his appointment as Governor of Jamaica. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1864, and of the Royal Geographic Society (FRGS) in 1870. He was made a GCMG on 9 March 1874.

References