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William Cairns
British colonial administrator (1828-1888) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sir William Wellington Cairns, KCMG (3 March 1828 – 7 July 1888) was a British colonial administrator. He was the Governor of Queensland and the Governor of Trinidad.
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Early life
Cairns was born in Belfast, Ireland on 3 March 1828 (as indicated on his grave stone). His parents were William Cairns, a property owner at Cultra, County Down and was a captain in the 14th Regiment, and his second marriage Matilda Beggs, daughter of Francis Beggs of the Grange, Malahide.[1]
Trinidad and Australia
He served in various senior colonial civil service posts in the British Empire including Trinidad,[2][3] moving due to health issues,[4] before being appointed Governor of Queensland in January 1875. He held the post for two years before becoming the Administrator of South Australia in 1877.[5] Cairns was given a CMG in 1874, followed by a knighthood in 1877.[6]
Later reflections of his contributions to colonial public life were not considered highly:
- Of all the pestilent "returned colonists" who misrepresent things Australian in London perhaps not one is equal as a nuisance to a retired Australian Governor.[7]
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Return
He subsequently returned to England where he died in London on 7 July 1888,[1][8][9] unmarried.[10] He is buried in a modest grave against the east wall of Brompton Cemetery near the north-east corner with Anna Maria Cairns, his sister.[11]
Legacy
The city of Cairns in Queensland was named after him in 1876.[12][13][14]
References
External links
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