Charles Augustus FitzRoy
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Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, KCH, KCB (England, 10 June 1796 – February 16, 1858, London) was a British military officer and member of the aristocracy, who held governerships in several British colonies during the 19th century.
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[edit] Family and peerage
Charles was the eldest son of General Lord Charles FitzRoy and Frances Mundy. His grandfather, Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1768 to 1770.
Charles' half brother Robert FitzRoy would become a pioneering meteorologist and surveyor, captain of the HMS Beagle, and later Governor of New Zealand.
[edit] Early life
The young Charles FitzRoy was educated at the Harrow School in London, before receiving a commission in the Royal Horse Guards regiment of the British Army at the age of 16. Just after his 19th birthday, FitzRoy's regiment took part in the Battle of Waterloo, where he was wounded. He travelled to Lower Canada with the Duke of Richmond in 1818. On 11 March 1820, he married Lady Mary Lennox (daughter of the Duke of Richmond), just after his promotion to captain. In 1825, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and appointed Deputy Adjutant General of the Cape Colony (now the Cape of Good Hope).
[edit] Governor of Prince Edward Island and the Leeward Islands
Sir Charles was appointed as the eighth Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island off the coast of Canada on 31 March 1837, and was granted a knighthood just before his departure. He returned to England in 1841, and was shortly afterwards made Governor of the Leeward Islands near the West Indies until 1845.
[edit] Governor of New South Wales
Sir Charles was chosen as the tenth Governor of the colony of New South Wales by Lord Stanley in 1845, and he and one of his sons arrived in the colony on board the HMS Carysfort on 2 August 1846. His wife and other children joined them later. In 1847, Fitzroy served briefly as Governor of the Colony of North Australia, although his lieutenant-governor, George Barney had the main responsibility for establishing the new colony under Fitroy's direction.
After sixteen months in the colony, Sir Charles' wife Mary was killed in a coach accident on 7 December 1847. A distraught FitzRoy considered resigning and returning to England, but his finances did not permit it.
In 1851 he named Grafton, New South Wales, after his grandfather Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton.
Sir Charles remained in New South Wales for eight eventful years, which saw many changes take place in the Australian colonies, not in the least being the first tentative steps towards Federation of the Australian states. In 1853, FitzRoy was appointed as Governor of Van Diemen's Land, South Australia and Victoria — essentially a pre-Federation Governor-General of Australia, with wide-ranging powers to intervene in inter-colonial disputes.
[edit] 1855–1858
1855 was an eventful year for Sir Charles FitzRoy. On 28 January he departed Australia and returned to England. On 11 September, his eldest son Augustus (a captain in the Royal Regiment of Artillery) was killed in the Crimean War. On 11 December, he married Margaret Gordon (widow of a Melbourne land agent).
Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy died in London on 16 February 1858 at the age of 61.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir George Gipps |
Governor of New South Wales 1846–1855 |
Succeeded by Sir William Denison |
[edit] References
- The Peerage of the FitzRoys
- Prince Edward Island official website
- Biography on NSW Constitution and Government Education Department
- The Road to Federation and Beyond
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | FitzRoy, Charles Augustus |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | British military officer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 10 June 1796 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | 16 February 1858 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | London |
