William Cairns

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

Sir William Wellington Cairns
KCMG
Governor of Trinidad
In office
2 May 1874 – 27 May 1874
MonarchQueen Victoria
Preceded byJames Robert Longden
Succeeded byHenry Turner Irving
4th Governor of Queensland
In office
23 January 1875 – 14 March 1877
MonarchQueen Victoria
Preceded byGeorge Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby
Succeeded bySir Arthur Edward Kennedy
Personal details
Born(1828-03-03)3 March 1828
County Down, Ireland, UK
Died9 July 1888(1888-07-09) (aged 60)
London, England, UK
NationalityUnited Kingdom British

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
The grave of William Wellington Cairns, Brompton Cemetery, London

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. "william Wellington Cairns". Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3, (MUP), 1969. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  2. "The late Sir W. W. CAIRNS". Adelaide Observer. South Australia. 21 July 1888. p. 31. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
  3. "Our Illustrations". The Illustrated Adelaide News. South Australia. 1 January 1877. p. 10. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
  4. "His Excellency Governor CAIRNS". Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald And General Advertiser. Queensland, Australia. 28 January 1875. p. 3. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
  5. "STATISTICAL RECORD OF THE LEGISLATURE 1836–2007" (PDF). Table A: Governors and Administrators. Parliament of South Australia. 24 April 2007. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  6. "DEATH OF SIR W. W. CAIRNS". The Express and Telegraph. South Australia. 19 July 1888. p. 3 (Second Edition). Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
  7. "CAIRNS on Chinese". The Australian Star. New South Wales, Australia. 31 May 1888. p. 4 (FIRST EDITION). Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
  8. "Death of Sir William CAIRNS". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 19 July 1888. p. 9. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
  9. "Sir William Cairns". The Sunday Mail (Brisbane). Queensland, Australia. 1 July 1928. p. 28. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
  10. "Chronicles of Queensland". Truth. Queensland, Australia. 9 June 1912. p. 12. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
  11. "Anna Maria Cairns (1808–1890) Grave Site". BillionGraves. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  12. "THE ELECTORAL ROLLS". The Telegraph. No. 1, 246. Queensland, Australia. 9 October 1876. p. 3. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "Cairns, Trinity Bay". The Northern Miner. Queensland, Australia. 6 December 1876. p. 2. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
  14. "Early days in Cairns". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Queensland, Australia. 18 September 1946. p. 4. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
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