George Ferguson Bowen GCMG PC (1821 - 1899)

Born 2 Nov 1821 in Taughboyne, County Donegal, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Diamantina (Roma) Bowen — married 28 Apr 1856 (to 17 Nov 1893) in Palace of St Michael and St George, Corfu

Husband of Letitia Florence (Luby) Bowen — married 17 Oct 1896 (to 21 Feb 1899) in Chelsea, London, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 21 Feb 1899 at age 77 in Brighton, Sussex, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: William Ferrett [send private message]

Preceded by 3rd Governor George Grey Preceded by New Position

Sir George Bowen GCMG PC 5th Governor of New Zealand 5 Feb 1868 – 19 Mar 1873 1st Governor of Queensland 10th Dec 1859 - 4th Jan 1868

Succeeded by 6th Governor James Fergusson Succeeded by 2nd Governor Colonel Sir Samuel Wensley Blackall

Biography

George Bowen GCMG PC is Notable.

Sir George Bowen GCMG was a British author and colonial administrator whose appointments included postings to the Ionian Islands, Queensland, New Zealand, Victoria, Mauritius and Hong Kong.

George Ferguson Bowen was born on 2nd November 1821 at Taughboyne, County Donegal, Ireland. He was the eldest son of the Rev. Edward Bowen, rector of Taughboyne in County Donegal.^[1]

Education

Bowen was educated at Charterhouse School and Trinity College, Oxford. Bowen, twice President of the Oxford Union, was awarded a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in classics in 1844, and was elected a fellow of Brasenose College. Bowen was called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn in 1844 and obtained his Master of Arts three years later. In 1846 Bowen had some naval training, serving for sixteen days on HMS Victory. In 1847 Bowen was appointed president of the Ionian University located in Corfu, a post he held until 1851.^[1]

Marriage and the Ionian Islands

Bowen became the chief secretary to the government of the Ionian Islands in 1854. While in that post, he married his first wife Contessa Diamantina di Roma on 28 April 1856. Diamantina was the daughter of Conte Giorgio-Candiano Roma and his wife Contessa Orsola, née di Balsamo. The Roma family were local aristocracy; her father being the President of the Ionian Senate, titular head of the Islands, from 1850 to 1856. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1855 and was advanced to Knight Commander (KCMG) in the following year.^[1]

He and Diamantina di Roma had the following children:

1. Edward George Bowen, born 15th January 1857 and died when twelve days old, born in the Ionian Islands
2. Adelaide Diamantina (Nina) Bowen, born 17 August 1858 in the Ionian Islands
3. Zoe Caroline Bowen, born 28 August 1860 at Adelaide House (the temporary Government House), Brisbane, Queensland
4. Agnes Herbert Bowen, born 26 July 1862 at the first Government House in Brisbane
5. George William Howard Bowen, born 9 April 1864 at the first Government House, in Brisbane
6. Alfreda Ernestina Albertina Bowen, born 10 April 1869 at Old Government House, Auckland, New Zealand

Queensland

In 1859, Bowen was appointed the first Governor of Queensland, a colony that had just been separated from New South Wales. Bowen's influence in Queensland was greater than that of the governors in other Australian colonies in a large part due to Robert Herbert, who accompanied Bowen from England, and later became colonial secretary and then first Premier of Queensland in 1860–66. Bowen was interested in the exploration of Queensland and in the establishment of a volunteer force, but incurred some unpopularity by refusing to sanction the issue of inconvertible paper money during the financial crisis of 1866. But overall, he was quite popular in Queensland, so that the citizens requested an extension of his five-year term as governor, resulting in his staying for further two years.^[1]

New Zealand

In 1867 Bowen was made Governor of New Zealand, where he was successful in reconciling the Māori reaction to the British rule, and saw the end of the New Zealand wars. Bowen also instituted the New Zealand Cross for colonial soldiers, one of the rarest bravery awards in the world and equivalent to the Victoria Cross (he was reprimanded for exceeding his authority). In 1869, Albert Hastings Markham, first lieutenant of HMS Blanche submitted a design to Bowen for a national ensign for New Zealand. His proposal, incorporating the Southern Cross, was approved and remains in use to this day.^[1]

Victoria

In March 1873 Bowen was transferred to Victoria as Governor of Victoria, where he embarked on an endeavour to reduce the expenses of the colony. A political crisis occurred while Bowen took leave in England from January 1875 to January 1876, when the acting governor, Sir William Stawell, showed "too little flexibility in the exercise of his temporary powers". One of the main issues was the perennial conflict between the Victorian Legislative Council and the Victorian Legislative Assembly; the Council was blocking legislation for its reform and for payment of members. In January 1878, backed by advice from the Colonial Office, Bowen consented to premier Graham Berry's plan to break the deadlock by the wholesale dismissal of public servants on so-called "Black Wednesday". In May that year, Bowen said that "my reluctant consent, purely on constitutional grounds, to these dismissals ... has damaged my further reputation and my career to a degree that I shall never recover. It will never be forgotten either in England or in the Colony". However several others, including Hugh Childers and William Ewart Gladstone, approved of Bowen's actions, and he was appointed to subsequent vice-regal posts.^[1]

Mauritius

Bowen arrived on Mauritius on 4th April 1879 and served as 13th Governor of the colony until 9th December 1880.^[1]

Hong Kong

On 30th March 1883, Bowen was made Governor of Hong Kong. During his tenure, his administration established the Hong Kong Observatory, which also served as the meteorological institute of the territory. He founded the first college in Hong Kong, and ordered the construction of the Typhoon Shelter in Causeway Bay, and a government hospital. He retired in 1887, due to ill health.^[1]

the final appointment

Retiring to England, Sir George was granted a pension. Lady Diamantina passed away on 17th November 1893.^[1]

George married a second time, to Letitia White, in late 1896 at Chelsea, London.^[2] Florence was the daughter of mathematician Dr Thomas Luby, and was the widow of Henry White, whom she had married in 1878.^[1]

Sir George Bowen passed away at Brighton on 21st February 1899^[3] And was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.^[4] Lady Letitia Bowen passed away in 1916 at Brighton.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9} Joyce, R B. Bowen, Sir George Ferguson (1821–1899). Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1969; accessed online 29 Jun 2018
2. ↑ UK FreeBMD Marriage Index Dec qtr 1896, vol 1a, page 724
3. ↑ UK FreeBMD Death Index Mar qtr 1899, vol 2b, page 173
4. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #33643413
5. ↑ UK FreeBMD Death Index Jun qtr 1916, vol 2b, page 293

See also:

• Joyce, R B. Bowen, Sir George Ferguson (1821–1899). Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1969; accessed online 29 Jun 2018.
• The Peerage: George Bowen; accessed 29 Jun 2019.
• Wikipedia profile: George Bowen; accessed 29 Jun 2018.