William C. F. Robinson

Sir William Robinson GCMG
File:William C. F. Robinson.jpeg
11th Governor of South Australia
In office 19 February 1883 – 5 March 1889
Monarch	Victoria
Premier	John Cox Bray (1883-84) John Colton (1884-85) Sir John Downer (1885-87) Thomas Playford II (1887-89)
Preceded by	Sir William Jervois
Succeeded by	The Rt Hon. Earl of Kintore
9th Governor of Western Australia
In office 1875–1877
Preceded by	Frederick Weld
Succeeded by	Harry Ord
In office 1880–1883
Preceded by	Harry Ord
Succeeded by	Frederick Broome
In office 1890–1895
Premier	Sir John Forrest
Preceded by	Frederick Broome
Succeeded by	Gerard Smith
1st Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island
In office 6 October 1870 – 4 July 1874
Monarch	Victoria
Governor General	The Lord Lisgar The Earl of Dufferin
Premier	James Colledge Pope Robert Haythorne Lemuel Owen
Preceded by	Robert Hodgson
Succeeded by	Robert Hodgson
Personal details
Born	(1834-01-14)14 January 1834 County Westmeath, Ireland
Died	South Kensington, London
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Olivia Edith Dean (m. 1862)
Children	three sons and two daughters
Residence	South Kensington, London
Occupation	musical composer, colonial administrator
Profession	Politician

Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson GCMG (14 January 1834 – 2 May 1897) was a British colonial administrator and a musical composer, being the author of several well-known songs. He was variously Governor of the Falkland Islands, Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island, Governor of Western Australia, Governor of South Australia and Governor of the Straits Settlements.

Biography

Robinson was the fifth son of Admiral Hercules Robinson. In 1858 he entered the service of the Colonial Office as private secretary to his elder brother, Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, who was then Lieutenant Governor of St. Kitts.

He married in 1862, and in 1866 was appointed Governor of the Falkland Islands. On 10 June 1873 he was appointed the first Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, and created a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG).

After leaving Prince Edward Island he was made Governor of Western Australia and served three terms – 1875 to 1877, 1880 to 1883 and 1890 to 1895 – which included the transition of the colony to self-governance in 1890. He was made a KCMG in 1877 and a GCMG in 1887.

Between the three terms of office in Western Australia, he took the offices of Governor of the Straits Settlements (1877–1879) and Governor of South Australia (1883–1889), during which time he acted as President of the Commission set up to organise the Adelaide Jubilee International Exhibition of 1887, and was largely responsible for instituting the Bachelor of Music course at the University of Adelaide.

Robinson retired from active service in 1895 aged 61, and died two years later in South Kensington, London, on 2 May 1897.

References

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 

External links

• Constitution Centre of Western Australia
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Prince Edward Island

Government offices
Preceded by Capt. James George Mackenzie	Governor of the Falkland Islands 1866–1870	Succeeded by Colonel George Abbas Kooli D'Arcy
Preceded by Sir Robert Hodgson	Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island 1873–1874	Succeeded by Sir Robert Hodgson
Preceded by Sir Frederick Weld	Governor of Western Australia 1875–1877	Succeeded by Major-General Sir Harry Ord
Preceded by Sir William Jervois	Governor of the Straits Settlements 1877–1879	Succeeded by Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld
Preceded by Major-General Sir Harry Ord	Governor of Western Australia 1880–1883	Succeeded by Sir Frederick Broome
Preceded by Lieutenant General Sir William F.D. Jervois, GCMG, CB	Governor of South Australia 1883–1889	Succeeded by Right Honourable the Earl of Kintore, PC, GCMG
Preceded by Sir Frederick Broome	Governor of Western Australia 1890–1891	Succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Gerard Smith