Robert George Wyndham Herbert GCB (1831 - 1905)

formative years

Robert Herbert GCB is Notable.

The Honourable Sir Robert George Wyndham Herbert GCB was born on 12th June 1831 at Brighton, Sussex, England. He was the only son of the Honourable Algernon Herbert, a younger son of the first Earl of Carnarvon, and his wife, Marianne Lemprierre, daughter of Thomas Lempriere of La Motte. Herbert's paternal great great grandfather was the 8th Earl of Pembroke. He was educated at Eton, where he and his second cousin, the Earl of Carnarvon, were constant companions, and at Balliol College, Oxford; earning a Balliol scholarship in 1849 and subsequently the Hertford and Ireland scholarships. He took a first class in classical moderations, won the Latin verse prize in 1852, and obtained second-class final honours in the classical school. He was elected Fellow of All Souls in 1854 and was Eldon law scholar.^[1]

early career in England

In 1855 Herbert was private secretary to (later The Right Honourable) William Ewart Gladstone, then chancellor of the exchequer.^[1]

After his father died in June 1855, he inherited the family house and some copyhold property in Ickleton, but the legacy yielded little income for all his father's capital was left to his mother and two younger sisters.^[1]

He was called to the bar of the Inner Temple in 1858.^[1]

Queensland

When Queensland was formed into a separate colony in June 1859, Sir George Bowen was appointed the first governor. He arrived at Brisbane on 10th December 1859 and brought Herbert with him as his private secretary. On the day of the governor's arrival, Herbert was gazetted as colonial secretary with Ratcliffe Pring as attorney-general. These with the governor formed an executive council to which additions were made afterwards. At the election held early in 1860 Herbert was returned unopposed for one of the Leichhardt seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and became the first Premier of Queensland. At 28 years and 181 days of age, he remains the youngest person to be elected Premier of an Australian state.

Herbert was a product of nineteenth-century English conservatism, and a touch of the eighteenth century was manifested in his political methods. Aware of his reserved, dry manner, he never attempted oratory and never gave anything away. He used mannerisms to disconcert opposing speakers while his own speeches carried into the legislature the administrative ability which was his main strength. Clear, concise and fluent, they persuaded by their content rather than by his slightly halting delivery. The factions and individualism of Queensland politics and parliament and its lack of a party system help to account for Herbert's success. In the absence of income tax, his main source of revenue was the tariff while loan funds were devoted to such developmental works as railways, telegraphs and harbours.^[2] He showed himself to be a good leader and held office from December 1859 to February 1866. Herbert then left for England, having gained much experience which was to be very useful to him in later years.^[1]

latter career in England

A few months after Herbert's arrival in England he was appointed Assistant-Secretary to the Board of Trade, in 1870 was made Assistant Under-Secretary for the Colonies, and in 1871 became Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. He held this position for 21 years with great distinction. In 1882 he was created Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) and in 1892 was upgraded to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). In the same year he was appointed chancellor of the Order of St Michael and St George.

After Carnarvon died in 1890 Herbert undertook the general editorship of his cousin's speeches and writings, including several volumes on colonial and imperial affairs.

He left the colonial office in 1892, but afterwards took up his duties again for a few months at the special request of Joseph Chamberlain. In 1893-6 he was agent-general for Tasmania, and did active work in connection with the formation of the British Empire League.^[1]

personal life

Robert Herbert never married, with several modern historians concluding that he was likely homosexual, albeit with no impirical contemporary evidence. He was book-learned, an English aristocrat and a careful dresser, but these do not describe one's sexuality! Indeed, in 1864, Herbert offered an explanation as to why he had not married, "It does not seem to me reasonable to tell a man who is happy and content, to marry a woman who may turn out a great disappointment."^[3]

Herbert met John Bramston in the early 1850s at Balliol College, Oxford University, England. The pair shared rooms at Oxford, and also in London. When Herbert was Premier of Queensland, and Bramston his Attorney-General, the two created a seventy-acre (28 ha) well-stocked farm on what is now the site of the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.^[1] They named the farmhouse in which they both lived Herston, a combination of their names. It gave its name to the suburb of Herston, opposite Bowen Hills.^[4]

Herbert passed away, aged 73 years, on 6th May 1905 at home at Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, England.^[5][6]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Wikipedia profile: Robert Herbert; accessed 9 Aug 2019
2. ↑ Knox, B A. 'Herbert, Sir Robert George Wyndham (1831–1905)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1972; accessed online 9 Aug 2019
3. ↑ Aldrich, Robert and Wotherspoon, Garry. Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History: From World War II to the Present Day. Routledge, 2001. p207. ISBN 0-415-15982-2
4. ↑ Feeney, Katherine, Brisbane Times 4 Jun 2009: Sex, politics and how Herston got its name; accessed 9 Aug 2019
5. ↑ UK FreeBMD Death Index Jun qtr 1905, vol 3b, page 275; registered at Linton
6. ↑ The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939) Sat 13 May 1905 Page 32 DEATH OF SIR ROBERT HERBERT.; accessed 9 Aug 2019

See also

• Knox, B A. 'Herbert, Sir Robert George Wyndham (1831–1905)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1972; accessed online 9 Aug 2019.
• Serle, Percival. Dictionary of Australian Biography: Robert Herbert. Project Gutenberg of Australia, Sydney, 1949, revised 2006; accessed 9 Aug 2019.
• Wikipedia profile: Robert Herbert; accessed 9 Aug 2019.