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Superintendant of the Port Phillip District
  Charles La Trobe 1839-1851  

 
Lieutenant-Governors of Victoria
  Charles La Trobe 1851-1854  
  Captain Sir Charles Hotham 1854-1855  

 
Governor of Victoria
  Captain Sir Charles Hotham 1855
  Sir Henry Barkly 1855 - 1863
  Sir Charles Henry Darling 1863 - 1866  


Governors of Victoria
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Victoria

Hotham, Captain Sir Charles, (1806-1855).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Hotham

Son of the Rev. Frederick Hotham, prebendary of Rochester, and his wife Anne Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas H Hodges, was born at Dennington, Suffolk, England, on 14 January 1806. He entered the navy in November 1818, and had a distinguished career. His last active service was as a commodore on the coast of Africa in 1846, in which year he was created K.C.B. In April 1852 he was appointed minister plenipotentiary on a mission to some of the South American republics, and in December 1853 was appointed lieutenant-governor of Victoria in succession to La Trobe. He was afterwards made captain general and governor-in-chief. He was received with great enthusiasm when he landed at Melbourne on 22 June 1854, and there appeared to be every prospect of his being a popular governor. He found, however, that the finances of the colony were in great disorder, there was a prospective deficiency of over £1,000,000, and a bad system had grown up of advances being made to the various departments under the title of "imprests". Hotham was wise in appointing a committee of two bankers and the auditor-general to inquire into the position, and this committee promptly advised the abolition of the "imprest" system. It was eventually found that under this system a sum of £280,000 could not be accounted for. His efforts at retrenchment brought Hotham much unpopularity, but on questions of finance he was always sound and great improvements in this regard were made during his short term of office. Hotham was, however, less successful in dealing with the wrongs of the diggers. He was a naval officer who had been used to strict discipline, and though he eventually realized that the arrogance of the officials who were administering the law was largely responsible for the trouble, when, on 25 November 1854, a deputation waited on him to demand the release of some diggers who had been arrested, he took the firm stand that a properly worded memorial would receive consideration, but none could be given to "demands". The rebellion which broke out at the Eureka stockade on 3 December 1854 was quickly subdued but the rebels arrested were all eventually acquitted. It was a time of great excitement in Melbourne, and the governor was convinced that designing men were behind the movement who hoped to bring about a state of anarchy. In these circumstances he felt that the only way of dealing with the trouble was the use of the strong hand. Though Hotham in all constitutional questions relied on his legal advisers his position was one of great difficulty. Constitutional government had been granted but not really effected, and it was not until 28 November 1855 that the first government under Haines was formed. During this year Hotham, had been endeavouring to carry out the views of his finance committee, and was receiving much criticism from a section of the press. He was insistent that tenders for all works should be called through the Government Gazette, but not receiving support from the legislature, he ordered the stoppage of all constructional works. For some of his actions he was reprimanded by Sir William Molesworth, the secretary of state. Hotham then sent in his resignation and in doing so mentioned that his health had materially suffered. He caught a chill on 17 December 1855, died on the last day of the year, and was buried in the Melbourne general cemetery. His death was largely the result of the anxiety he had suffered. He married in December 1853 Jane Sarah, daughter of Samuel Hood Lord Bridport, who survived him. Hotham, was able and thoroughly conscientious, but he had had little experience to help him in dealing with the exceptionally difficult problems of his period of governorship. He has been severely criticized, but his work in connexion with the finances of the colony was of great value.

 
Barkly, Sir Henry (1815-1898)

Born at Monteagle, Rosshire, Scotland on the 24th February 1815. Barkly trained for commerce and pursued a business career. He represented Leominster in the House of Commons 1845-48 and then became governor and commander-in-chief of British Guinea 1849-53 and then governor and commander-in-chief of Jamaica 1853-56.

He received a KCB about 1855 and a GCMG in 1874. Barkly was Governor of Victoria from 1856 to 1863, then went on to be governor of Mauritius 1863-70, governor of the Cape of Good Hope and British high commissioner in South Africa 1870-77; Royal Commission on colonial defence 1879. Fellow of the Royal Society 1864Barkly was a Patron of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria and during his term as Governor of Victoria 1856-63 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 Acclimatization Society and the Observatory.

He died at Brompton, 20th October 1898.

 
Darling, Sir Charles Henry (1809-1870)

Darling was born in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia on February 19, 1809. He was educated in England, at the Royal Military College in Sandhurst. He started in the army as an ensign in 1826 and, by 1830, he was a lieutenant. A year later, however, he re-started his studies at Sandhurst and remained there until 1833. He left to serve as a military secretary in Barbados, the Windward Islands, and Jamaica. Darling rose to the rank of captain before retiring from the army in 1841 to start a new career in the civil service. As a government official, Darling spent several years in Jamaica until he was appointed lieutenant-governor of St. Lucia in 1847, and the Cape Colony in South Africa in 1851. He was appointed governor-in-chief of Antigua and the Leeward Islands in 1855 but never served there. The Colonial Office decided to send him to Newfoundland instead.

Darling was sent to Newfoundland to help ease the way for responsible government. At the start, he got along well with the newly elected Liberal administration, headed by Philip F. Little. During 1855 and 1856 Newfoundland was peaceful politically, and, with its inclusion in the Reciprocity Treaty with the United States, enjoyed a spurt of economic growth. His agreeable relationship with the government changed sharply, however, in 1856, when Darling went along with British suggestions that would grant the French more fishing rights in waters between Cape St. John and Cape Ray. The Newfoundland government vehemently disagreed with the proposals, and eventually the recommendations were dropped. The conflict tarnished the relationship between Darling and the government. His term ended shortly after the dispute.

Darling was appointed governor and captain-chief of Jamaica in February of 1857. His last appointment was in 1863, as governor of Victoria, Australia. He returned to England and died in Cheltenham in 1870.

Biographical information from:
Bright Sparcs www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/
Serle, P. 1949. Dictionary of Australian Biography Angus and Robertson
Pike, D. et al., 1966. Australian dictionary of biography Melbourne: Melbourne University Printers

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