Elizabeth Helen Timins (1840–1857) Anne Maria Pratt (1860–1898)
Sir Henry BarklyGCMGKCBFRSFRGS (24 February 1815 – 20 October 1898) was a British politician, colonial governor and patron of the sciences.
Early life and education
Born on 24 February 1815 at Highbury, Middlesex (now London), he was the eldest son of Susannah Louisa (born ffrith) and Æneas Barkly, a Scottish born West India merchant.[1] He was educated at Bruce Castle School in Tottenham, where the school's particular curriculum endowed him with a lifetime interest in science and statistics.[2]
Upon completing his schooling and studies in commerce, Barkly worked for his father. The Barkly family had several connections with the West Indies: Barkly's mother, Susannah Louisa, whose maiden name was ffrith, was the daughter of a Jamaica planter; his father's company was concerned with trade in the West Indies; and the family owned an estate in British Guiana.[2]
According to the Legacies of British Slave-ownership database Barkly's father was compensated £132,000 from the Imperial Parliament for the emancipation of some 4,440 slaves in 1834.[3] Barkly inherited his father's estate in 1836 at the age of 20. He was awarded two of the compensation claims following his father's death.[4] He remained involved in the partnership until 1843.[5]
As a Peelite, one of the supporters of Prime MinisterRobert Peel, Barkly found himself adrift with few political prospects when Peel was overthrown, and he gratefully accepted the governorship of British Guiana when the post was offered by his Liberal opponents in 1848.[2]
In August 1870 he was sent to the Cape Colony as governor and as British High Commissioner for Southern Africa. He helped to implement responsible government in the Cape and worked closely with John Molteno, its first elected Prime Minister. He served in South Africa until 1877, and played an important role in assisting the early growth of the Cape Liberal tradition. He was also influential in supporting the local resistance against Lord Carnarvon's attempt to unite the region's states into a federation (inspired by the success of the Canadian Confederation). Crucially, he shared with the Cape government the belief that the Cape's non-racial constitution was still fragile and that it was "impossible that the Cape's native laws would survive a session of bargaining with the Boer republics. Federation in 1875 would have produced the same results as Union did in 1910... Barkly was undoubtedly right to foster the nucleus of a Liberal party which was forming around Molteno. Liberal democracy was a tender plant in the climate of South Africa, but it had taken root in the Cape, and it was only the insensitive handling of Downing Street which prevented it growing, as Barkly hoped, into a force which would have been strong enough to control the other tendencies in South African politics."[12]
In 1840, he married Elizabeth Helen, the second daughter of J. F. Timins.[9] Elizabeth was an artist and botanical collector who collected with her husband and undertook illustrations for him.[13] She died in 1857 leaving him with their daughter Emily.[13] Emily was also a botanical artist, drawing illustrations for her father and collecting botanical specimens.[14][15] Barkly was remarried to the botanist Anne Maria Pratt, the daughter of Thomas Simson Pratt, three years after the death of his first wife.[16][17] His oldest son Arthur Cecil Stuart Barkly (1843–1890) was his father's private secretary in Mauritius and the Cape, and went on to become the last British governor of Heligoland.[2]
Honours
Henry Barkly was awarded a Knight of the Order of the Bath on 18 July 1853, just prior to his appointment as Governor of Jamaica. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1864, and of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) in 1870. He was made a GCMG on 9 March 1874.
Legacy
The Navarre diggings, a small Victorian gold field was named Barkly on 1 November 1861 in his honour.[18]
Several notable streets were named after him including a main civic street in Ballarat East named Barkly Street for him in 1858[20] along with the main street of Ararat, Victoria also named Barkly Street.[21] Barkly Street in Mentone, Victoria was named for him though later renamed Rogers Street.[22] The Barkly River, located in the alpine region of Victoria, within the Alpine National Park, is named in honour of Barkly. The bell atop the tower of the Ballarat Fire Brigade, on the corner of Barkly & East streets, Ballarat East was christened the "Lady Barkly" by the brigades Captain in August 1863.
Publications
MacMillan, Mona (1969). "Sir Henry Barkly, mediator and moderator, 1815-1898". Balkema: Cape Town.
^Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 181. ISBN0-900178-26-4.