Richard Bourke

Richard Bourke

: "This article is about the NSW governor, for the Irish statesman see Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo"

General Sir Richard Bourke, KCB (4 May 177713 August 1855)was Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, Australia between 1831 and 1837.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Bourke was educated at Westminster and read law at Christ Church, Oxford. He joined the British Army as an ensign in the Grenadier Guards on 22 November 1798, serving in the Netherlands with the Duke of York before a posting in South America in 1807 where he participated in the siege and storming of Montevideo. He was promoted major-general in 1821.

In recognition of his duty to the crown, Bourke was first appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Eastern District of the Cape of Good Hope before his appointment succeeding Sir Ralph Darling as Governor of New South Wales in 1831.

Bourke proved to be an able, if controversial, Governor. Appalled by the excessive punishments doled out to convicts, Bourke passed 'The Magistrates Act', which limited the sentence a magistrate could pass to fifty lashes (previously there was no such limit). Furious magistrates and employers petitioned the crown against this interference with their legal rights, fearing that a reduction in punishments would cease to provide enough deterrence to the convicts.

In 1835 Bourke implemented the doctrine of "terra nullius" by proclaiming that Indigenous Australians could not sell or assign land, nor could an individual person acquire it, other than through distribution by the Crown. [cite web | url = http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?dID=42 | title = Governor Bourke's Proclamation 1835 (UK) | work = Documenting a Democracy: 110 key documents that are the foundation of our nation | publisher = National Archives of Australia | accessdate = 2008-03-05 |quote = This document implemented the doctrine of "terra nullius" upon which British settlement was based, reinforcing the notion that the land belonged to no one prior the British Crown taking possession of it. Aboriginal people therefore could not sell or assign the land, nor could an individual person acquire it, other than through distribution by the Crown. ... Although many people at the time also recognised that the Aboriginal occupants had rights in the lands (and this was confirmed in a House of Commons report on Aboriginal relations in 1837), the law followed and almost always applied the principles expressed in Bourke's proclamation. This would not change until the Australian High Court's decision in the Mabo Case in 1992.]

Bourke, however, continued to create controversy within the colony by combating the inhumane treatment handed out to convicts, including limiting the number of convicts each employer was allowed to seventy, as well as granting rights to freed convicts, such as allowing the acquisition of property and service on juries. It has been argued that the abolition of convict transportation to Australia in 1840 can be attributable to the actions of Bourke.

Emboldened by these changes, Bourke abolished the distinction of the Anglican Church as the state church of New South Wales, declaring each religious community on equal footing before the law. He also increased spending on education and was credited as the first governor to publish satisfactory accounts of public receipts and expenditure. In 1837, the year of his promotion to lieutenant-general, he named the town of Melbourne after Viscount Melbourne the U.K. Prime Minister. Bourke Street in Melbourne's central business district and the town of Bourke, New South Wales were named after him, in turn. There is a statue of Bourke outside the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney which records his accomplishments as Governor in florid detail.

Bourke was promoted general in 1851, and died near Limerick, Ireland in 1855.

External links

* [http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/portphillip/inter/6728.shtml Images and transcript of Sir Richard Bourke's journal] at the State Library of Victoria.

References

*Hazel King, ' [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010120b.htm Bourke, Sir Richard (1777 - 1855)] ', "Australian Dictionary of Biography", Volume 1, MUP, 1966, pp 128-133.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Richard Bourke — (1829) Richard Bourke Statue vor der State …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Richard Bourke — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Bourke (homonymie). Sir Richard Bourke Le général Sir Richard Bourke (4 mai 1777 13 août 1855) a été le huitième …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo — Infobox Person name = Richard Bourke caption = The Rt Hon. The Earl of Mayo birth date = birth place = death date = death place = other names = known for = occupation = relatives = spouse = website = footnotes = Richard Southwell Bourke, K.P.,… …   Wikipedia

  • Bourke Street, Melbourne — Bourke Street is a major street in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Bourke Street is named for Sir Richard Bourke, the Governor of New South Wales (and thus, of Melbourne as well) in 1837, when the Hoddle… …   Wikipedia

  • Bourke (New South Wales) — Bourke Staat: Australien Bundesstaat …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bourke's Parrot — Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Bourke — ist der Name von Ciarán Bourke (1935–1988), irischer Folk Musiker Jamie Bourke (* 1991), australischer Eishockeyspieler John Gregory Bourke (1843–1906), US amerikanischer Ethnologe Margaret Bourke White (1904–1971), US amerikanische… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bourke — may refer to: * Bourke, New South Wales * Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales from 1831 1837 * Martin Bourke, Governor of Turks and Caicos Islands from 1993 to 1996 * Bourke engine * Bourke s Parrot * Bourke Street, Melbourne, a street in …   Wikipedia

  • BOURKE, Sir Richard (1777-1855) — governor of New South Wales was born at Dublin, Ireland, on 4 May 1777. It has been stated that the date on his tombstone is 1778, but as he matriculated in 1793 and qualified as a barrister in 1798, that date seems unlikely to be correct. He was …   Dictionary of Australian Biography

  • Bourke — I. /bɜk/ (say berk) noun Sir Richard, 1777–1855, Irish born British army officer and administrator; governor of NSW 1831–37. Richard Bourke sought administrative appointments after retiring from the army. As governor of NSW he introduced a number …  

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”