William Cairns

Sir William Wellington Cairns, KCMG (1828 – 1888) was a British colonial administrator.

Sir William Wellington Cairns KCMG
Governor of Trinidad
In office 2 May 1874 – 27 May 1874
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Preceded by	James Robert Longden
Succeeded by	Henry Turner Irving
4th Governor of Queensland
In office 23 January 1875 – 14 March 1877
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Preceded by	George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby
Succeeded by	Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy
Personal details
Born	3 March 1828 Co. Down, Ireland, UK
Died	9 July 1888 (aged 60) London, England, UK
Nationality	British

Life

Cairns was born in Belfast on 3 March 1828 (as indicated on his grave stone).

He served in various senior colonial civil service posts in the British Empire including Trinidad,[1][2] moving due to health issues,[3] 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.[4]

Cairns was given a CMG in 1874, followed by a knighthood in 1877.[5] 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.[6]

He subsequently returned to England where he died in London on 7 July 1888,[7][8] unmarried.[9] 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.[10]

The grave of William Wellington Cairns, Brompton Cemetery, London

Legacy

The city of Cairns in Queensland was named after him in 1876.[11][12][13]

References

1. "The late Sir W. W. CAIRNS". Adelaide Observer. South Australia. 21 July 1888. p. 31. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
2. "Our Illustrations". The Illustrated Adelaide News. South Australia. 1 January 1877. p. 10. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
3. "His Excellency Governor CAIRNS". Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald And General Advertiser. Queensland, Australia. 28 January 1875. p. 3. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
4. "STATISTICAL RECORD OF THE LEGISLATURE 1836–2007" (PDF). Table A: Governors and Administrators. Parliament of South Australia. 24 April 2007. p. 2. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
5. "DEATH OF SIR W. W. CAIRNS". The Express and Telegraph. South Australia. 19 July 1888. p. 3 (Second Edition). Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
6. "CAIRNS on Chinese". The Australian Star. New South Wales, Australia. 31 May 1888. p. 4 (FIRST EDITION). Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
7. "Death of Sir William CAIRNS". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 19 July 1888. p. 9. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
8. "Sir William Cairns". The Sunday Mail (Brisbane). Queensland, Australia. 1 July 1928. p. 28. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
9. "Chronicles of Queensland". Truth. Queensland, Australia. 9 June 1912. p. 12. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
10. "Anna Maria Cairns (1808–1890) Grave Site". BillionGraves. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
11. "THE ELECTORAL ROLLS". The Telegraph (1, 246). Queensland, Australia. 9 October 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 5 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "Cairns, Trinity Bay". The Northern Miner. Queensland, Australia. 6 December 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
13. "Early days in Cairns". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Queensland, Australia. 18 September 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.

External links

• Australian Dictionary of Biography : Sir William Wellington Cairns