| Sir Henry Barkly | |
|---|---|
| 4th Governor of British Guiana | |
| In office 12 February 1849 – 11 May 1853 |
|
| Preceded by | Henry Light |
| Succeeded by | Philip Wodehouse |
| Governor of Jamaica | |
| In office 1853–1856 |
|
| Preceded by | Charles Edward Grey |
| Succeeded by | Charles Henry Darling |
| 2nd Governor of Victoria | |
| In office 26 December 1856 – 10 September 1863 |
|
| Preceded by | Sir Charles Hotham |
| Succeeded by | Sir Charles Darling |
| 10th Governor of Mauritius | |
| In office 21 August 1863 – 3 June 1870 |
|
| Preceded by | Sir William Stevenson |
| Succeeded by | Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon |
| 14th Governor of Cape Colony | |
| In office 31 December 1870 – 31 March 1877 |
|
| Preceded by | Sir Philip Wodehouse |
| Succeeded by | Sir Henry Frere |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 February 1815 Highbury, Middlesex, England, UK |
| Died | 20 October 1898 (aged 83) South Kensington, London, England, UK |
| Resting place | Brompton Cemetery |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | 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.
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Born in 1815 at Highbury, Middlesex (now London), he was the only son of Aeneas Barkly, a West India merchant. He was educated at Bruce Castle School in Tottenham, where the school's particular curriculum endowed him with a lifetime interest in science and statistics.[1]
Upon completing his schooling and studies in commerce, Barkly worked for his father. The Barkly family had several connections with the West Indies: Barkly's mother, Susannah Louisa, whose maiden name was ffrith, was the daughter of a Jamaica planter; his father's company was concerned with trade in the West Indies; and the family owned an estate in British Guiana.[1]
Barkly was elected to the House of Commons at a by-election on 26 April 1845 as one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for the borough Leominster.[2] He was returned unopposed,[3] and The Times observed that his election address did not render voters "much wiser" about his political views.[4]
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.[1]
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.[1]
In 1853, he was transferred to Jamaica and served three years as its governor and captain-general.[5]
In November 1856 Barkly was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief 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.[6]
He was appointed 10th Governor of Mauritius from 21 August 1863 to 3 June 1870.[7]
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 helped to implement self government in the Cape and worked closely with its first Prime Minister, Sir John C Molteno. He served in South Africa until 1877 and the South African towns of Barkly East and Barkly West are named after him. 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.
In 1840, he married Elizabeth Helen, the second daughter of J. F. Timins.[5] She died in 1857 and Barkly remarried Anne Maria Pratt three years later.
Henry Barkly was awarded a Knight of the Order of the Bath 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. The Navarre diggings, a small Victorian gold field was named Barkly on 1 November 1861 in his honour.[8]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Greenaway George Arkwright |
Member of Parliament for Leominster 1845 – 1849 With: George Arkwright |
Succeeded by Frederick Peel George Arkwright |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Henry Light |
Governor of British Guiana 1849 – 1853 |
Succeeded by Philip Wodehouse |
| Preceded by Sir Charles Edward Grey |
Governor of Jamaica 1853 – 1856 |
Succeeded by Edward Wells Bell |
| Preceded by Sir Charles Hotham |
Governor of Victoria 1856 – 1863 |
Succeeded by Sir Charles Darling |
| Preceded by Sir William Stevenson |
Governor of Mauritius 1863 – 1870 |
Succeeded by Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon |
| Preceded by Sir Philip Wodehouse |
Governor of Cape Colony 1870 – 1877 |
Succeeded by Henry Bartle Frere |
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