Ernest Clark (governor)
Encyclopedia
Sir Ernest Clark, GCMG
, KCB
, CBE
(13 April 1864 – 26 August 1951) was a British
civil servant
, who was Governor of Tasmania from 1933 to 1945.
, Kent
to teacher Samuel Henry Clark, and his wife Ann Leaver. He was educated at King's College London
, and entered the civil service
in 1881, working for HM Treasury
.
at Middle Temple
in 1894, and joined the Treasury's legal staff. In 1904, he had his first experience managing colonial finances when he was seconded to the Cape Colony
in Africa
to establish the colony's taxation procedures, subsequently serving the government of the Union of South Africa
.
When World War I
broke out, Clark worked as a Treasury liaison officer with the War Office
and the Ministry of Munitions
. After the war, he was appointed CBE
in 1918, and joined the Board of Inland Revenue as assistant secretary and deputy inspector of taxes.
From 1920, Clark was appointed to Northern Ireland
as assistant under-secretary – the equal in the six counties to Sir John Anderson
, the head of the Dublin administration – and was instrumental in resolving amicable relations between Northern Ireland
and the newly-formed Irish Free State
. His friendship with James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn
, the Governor of Northern Ireland
, also eased relations between the new Irish government and Downing Street
. Clark was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
in 1924.
in 1928, as a member of a British government economic delegation tasked with examining the state of the Australian economy. His report on Australian economics greatly impressed the Premier of Tasmania, Joseph Lyons
, and it was believed that Lyons (by then Prime Minister
) may have suggested Clark for the post of Governor of Tasmania in 1933. The post had been vacant since 1930 due to lack of funds, and Clark's appointment, with his background in finance and contacts in London business may aid both Tasmania and Australia.
Clark's term as governor was extended three times due to World War II
. He was enormously popular in Tasmania
, especially because of his untiring visits to all parts of the state, encouraging morale during the war. He was given the rare honour of GCMG at the end of hostilities.
Clark returned to England in 1945, where he married his second wife Harriet McLennan in 1947. He died on 26 August 1951 at his home in Seaton, Devon
, and his remains were shipped to Tasmania for interment at Cornelian Bay Cemetery
.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(13 April 1864 – 26 August 1951) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
civil servant
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
, who was Governor of Tasmania from 1933 to 1945.
Early life and education
Ernest Clark was born on 13 April 1864 in PlumsteadPlumstead
Plumstead is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. Plumstead is a multi cultural area with large Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, in similarity to local areas such as Woolwich and Thamesmead...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
to teacher Samuel Henry Clark, and his wife Ann Leaver. He was educated at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, and entered the civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
in 1881, working for HM Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
.
Civil service
Clark was called to the barBar council
A bar council , in a Commonwealth country and in the Republic of Ireland, the Bar Council of Ireland is a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the King's Inns. Solicitors are generally regulated by the Law society....
at Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in 1894, and joined the Treasury's legal staff. In 1904, he had his first experience managing colonial finances when he was seconded to the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
to establish the colony's taxation procedures, subsequently serving the government of the Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
.
When World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, Clark worked as a Treasury liaison officer with the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
and the Ministry of Munitions
Minister of Munitions
The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort...
. After the war, he was appointed CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1918, and joined the Board of Inland Revenue as assistant secretary and deputy inspector of taxes.
From 1920, Clark was appointed to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
as assistant under-secretary – the equal in the six counties to Sir John Anderson
John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, PC, PC was a British civil servant then politician who served as a minister under Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill as Home Secretary, Lord President of the Council and Chancellor of the Exchequer...
, the head of the Dublin administration – and was instrumental in resolving amicable relations between Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and the newly-formed Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
. His friendship with James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn
James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn
James Albert Edward Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn KG, KP, PC , styled Marquess of Hamilton between 1885 and 1913, was a British peer and Unionist politician. He was the first Governor of Northern Ireland, a post he held between 1922 and 1945...
, the Governor of Northern Ireland
Governor of Northern Ireland
The Governor of Northern Ireland was the principal officer and representative in Northern Ireland of the British monarch. The office was established on 9 December 1922 and abolished on 18 July 1973.-Overview:...
, also eased relations between the new Irish government and Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
. Clark was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in 1924.
Governor of Tasmania
Clark visited AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1928, as a member of a British government economic delegation tasked with examining the state of the Australian economy. His report on Australian economics greatly impressed the Premier of Tasmania, Joseph Lyons
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
, and it was believed that Lyons (by then Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
) may have suggested Clark for the post of Governor of Tasmania in 1933. The post had been vacant since 1930 due to lack of funds, and Clark's appointment, with his background in finance and contacts in London business may aid both Tasmania and Australia.
Clark's term as governor was extended three times due to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was enormously popular in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, especially because of his untiring visits to all parts of the state, encouraging morale during the war. He was given the rare honour of GCMG at the end of hostilities.
Clark returned to England in 1945, where he married his second wife Harriet McLennan in 1947. He died on 26 August 1951 at his home in Seaton, Devon
Seaton, Devon
Seaton is a seaside town in East Devon on the south coast of England. It faces onto Lyme Bay, to the west of the mouth of the River Axe with red cliffs to one side and white cliffs on the other. Axmouth and Beer are nearby...
, and his remains were shipped to Tasmania for interment at Cornelian Bay Cemetery
Cornelian Bay, Tasmania
Cornelian Bay is a small suburb in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It lies just north of the urban parkland, the Queens Domain. The bay itself is a safe anchorage for yacht owners.A waterfront restaurant and boathouses line the foreshore....
.
External links
- Private papers at the Morris Miller Library
- A brief bio at the National Archives of Australia