William Cairns

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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

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.

Early life[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

The grave of William Wellington Cairns, Brompton Cemetery, London

He subsequently returned to England where he died in London on 7 July 1888,[1][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[edit]

The city of Cairns in Queensland was named after him in 1876.[12][13][14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "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.

External links[edit]

Government offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Malacca
1867 – 1869 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Saint Christopher
1869 – 1870 		Succeeded byas President of Saint Christopher
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of British Honduras
1870 – 1874 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Trinidad
1874 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Queensland
1875 – 1877 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Administrator of South Australia
1877 		Succeeded by
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