William Cairns Explained

Sir William Wellington Cairns
Honorific-Suffix:KCMG
Office:Governor of Trinidad
Term Start:2 May 1874
Term End:27 May 1874
Predecessor:James Robert Longden
Successor:Henry Turner Irving
Order2:4th
Office2:Governor of Queensland
Term Start2:23 January 1875
Term End2:14 March 1877
Monarch2:Queen Victoria
Predecessor2:George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby
Successor2:Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy
Birth Date:3 March 1828
Birth Place:County Down, Ireland, UK
Death Place:London, England, UK
Nationality: British

Sir William Wellington Cairns, (3 March 1828 - 9 June 1888) was a British colonial administrator. He was the Governor of Queensland and the Governor of Trinidad.

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]

Return

He subsequently returned to England where he died in London on 7 July 1888,[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

  1. Web site: William Wellington Cairns . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210622141934/https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cairns-sir-william-wellington-3141 . 22 June 2021 . 15 July 2021 . Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3, (MUP), 1969.
  2. News: The late Sir W. W. CAIRNS. . . South Australia . 21 July 1888 . 17 May 2020 . 31 . Trove . 14 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714063211/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/160780023 . live .
  3. News: Our Illustrations . The Illustrated Adelaide News . South Australia . 1 January 1877 . 17 May 2020 . 10 . Trove . 14 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714063341/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/blank . live .
  4. News: His Excellency Governor CAIRNS. . . Queensland, Australia . 28 January 1875 . 17 May 2020 . 3 . Trove . 14 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714063322/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/blank . live .
  5. Web site: STATISTICAL RECORD OF THE LEGISLATURE 1836–2007. Table A: Governors and Administrators. Parliament of South Australia. 2 January 2019. 2. 24 April 2007. 12 March 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110312023915/http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/AboutParliament/From1836/Documents/StatisticalRecordoftheLegislature1836to20093.pdf. live.
  6. News: DEATH OF SIR W. W. CAIRNS. . . South Australia . 19 July 1888 . 17 May 2020 . 3 (Second Edition) . Trove . 14 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714063212/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/207749438 . live .
  7. News: CAIRNS on Chinese. . . New South Wales, Australia . 31 May 1888 . 17 May 2020 . 4 (FIRST EDITION) . Trove . 14 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714063214/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/229935892 . live .
  8. News: Death of Sir William CAIRNS. . . Victoria, Australia . 19 July 1888 . 17 May 2020 . 9 . Trove . 14 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714063213/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/6895069 . live .
  9. News: Sir William Cairns . . Queensland, Australia . 1 July 1928 . 17 May 2020 . 28 . Trove . 14 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714063213/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/100130405 . live .
  10. News: Chronicles of Queensland. . . Queensland, Australia . 9 June 1912 . 17 May 2020 . 12 . Trove . 14 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714063215/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/201748979 . live .
  11. Web site: Anna Maria Cairns (1808–1890) Grave Site. BillionGraves. en. 2018-01-10. 11 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180111110218/https://billiongraves.com/grave/Anna-Maria-Cairns/9491441. live.
  12. News: THE ELECTORAL ROLLS. . . 1,246 . Queensland, Australia . 9 October 1876 . 5 September 2018 . 3 . National Library of Australia . 1 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210201131931/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/174709204 . live .
  13. News: Cairns, Trinity Bay. . . Queensland, Australia . 6 December 1876 . 17 May 2020 . 2 . Trove . 14 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714063341/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/blank . live .
  14. News: Early days in Cairns . . Queensland, Australia . 18 September 1946 . 17 May 2020 . 4 . Trove . 14 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714063214/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/62987672 . live .

External links

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