Sir Charles Augustus Fitz Roy Sir Charles Augustus Fitz Roy was the tenth governor of New South Wales. He arrived in the colony on the 2nd of August 1846, and took the oaths of office on the following day. He administered the government, first, as governor-in-chief and captain-general, and, secondly as governor-general, until the 27th of January 1855. During his administration, the colony passed through an extraordinary period of progress; the district of Port Phillip was separated and erected into an independent colony under the name of Victoria; in the year 1853, the constitution act was passed by the legislative council, and, in the year 1855, was confirmed with slight amendment by the British parliament, and by this act the colony was granted the principle of responsible government; the protest of the colonists against the revival of transportation of convicts was recognised finally by the British government; the squatting problem was reduced to an ordered system; railways were introduced; a steam postal service was inaugurated between the colony and Great Britain; the practical discovery of gold with the consequent enormous influx of population changed the prospects of the colony; the establishment of a branch of the royal mint with an Australian gold coinage was initiated; the building of the exchange and the construction of the Fitzroy dock were commenced; and the university of Sydney was founded. The influence of Sir Charles Fitz Roy on this great political, social and intellectual progress will be noted in detail in the introductions to succeeding volumes. In this introduction, it is necessary to consider the man and to note the salient features of his life. Charles Augustus Fitz Roy was the son of General Lord Charles Fitz Roy, who was the second son of the third Duke of Grafton. He was born on the 10th of May 1796. At the age of sixteen years, he entered the army and obtained a commission as lieutenant in the royal regiment of Horse guards on the 16th of October 1812. He was present at the battle of Waterloo on the staff of Sir Hussey Vivian. On the 11th of March 1820, he was married to Lady Mary Lennox, the eldest daughter of the fourth Duke of Richmond; and his career was largely affected by the family influence of two ducal houses. On the 27th of April 1820, he obtained his commission as Captain in the Horse guards; but, on the 23rd of June 1825, he was placed on the half-pay list; On the 20th of October 1825, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General at the Cape of Good Hope. After service at the Cape, he returned to England, and, in the year 1831, he was elected to the House of Commons as member for Bury St. Edmunds. In this parliament, the Reform bill was passed, for which Fitz Roy voted. He did not, however, seek re-election, and therefore did not sit in the reformed parliament, and, in the year 1833, he retired from the army. In the year 1837, he was knighted and appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island. In the year 1841, he was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Leeward Islands. During these administrations, he won great favour by his conciliatory demeanour. He administered the government of the Leeward Islands until the year 1845, when he was selected to succeed Sir George Gipps in the government of New South Wales. He was given two commissions, dated 20th and 21st February 1846, respectively, the first as Captain- General and Governor-in-Chief of the territory of New South Wales, and the second as Governor and Commander-in-Chief over the colony of North Australia, a new colony created by letters patent, dated 17th February 1846, north of the twenty-sixth parallel of south latitude. The effect of the two commissions was to give to Sir Charles Fitz Roy the same territorial jurisdiction as held by his predecessors. Accompanied by Lady Mary Fitz Roy and his son George as private secretary, he sailed for the colony in H.M. ship Carysfort, and arrived in Port Jackson on the 2nd of August 1846. He landed on the following day, took the oaths of office and assumed the administration. A second son and a daughter, the Hon. Mrs. Keith Stewart, afterwards came to the colony. Within eighteen months of his arrival, Lady Mary Fitz Roy was killed. On the 7th of December 1847, Sir Charles Fitz Roy, driving four horses, with Lieutenant C. C. Masters beside him on the box and Lady Mary in the carriage, left the government house at Parramatta to proceed to Sydney. The horses almost immediately bolted, and, near the entrance to the domain, the occupants were thrown from the carriage. Lady Mary sustained a fracture of the base of the skull, and died shortly after being carried back on a sofa to the government house; C. C. Masters died about nine hours later; whilst Sir Charles Fitz Roy escaped with a severe injury to the knee. As will be noted later, this accident had great influence on Sir Charles Fitz Roy's future career as Governor. Continued......... Lesley Uebel mailto:ckennedy@bigpond.net.au CLAIM A CONVICT http://users.bigpond.net.au/convicts/index.html

Thank you Lesley, This is very interesting. Liz Lesley Uebel wrote: > Sir Charles Augustus Fitz Roy > > >