Richard Bourke
Encyclopedia
General Sir Richard Bourke, KCB
(4 May 1777 – 13 August 1855)
was Governor
of the Colony of New South Wales
, Australia
between 1831 and 1837.
and read law at Christ Church, Oxford
. He was a cousin of Edmund Burke
and spent school and university holidays at Burke's home, and acquired some influential friends. 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. He retired from the army after the Peninsular War to live on his Irish estate but eventually sought Government office to increase his income. He was appointed to the Cape Colony and was promoted to Lieutenant-Governor of the Eastern District of the Cape of Good Hope
, acting as Governor for both eastern and Western Districts. Under Bourke's governorship, much was done to reform the old, mercantilist system of government inherited from the Dutch East India Company
at the Cape.
as Governor of New South Wales in 1831.
Bourke proved to be an able, if controversial, Governor. In most of his efforts he faced entrenched opposition from the local conservatives: the 'exclusive' faction in the Legislative Council, and the Colonial Secretary Alexander Mcleay and the Colonial Treasurer Campbell Riddell. The newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald
always opposed him. (The exclusives were hostile to the participation of ex-convicts ('emancipists') in civil life and hence were opposed to changes which moved the colony from military to civil governance.) Bourke described himself as being 'pretty much in the situation that Earl Grey would find himself in if all members of his Cabinet were Ultra Tories and he could neither turn them out nor leave them'.
Bourke had authority from the Colonial Office to extend trial by jury and substitute civil for military juries in criminal cases. He managed this despite fierce opposition from the legislature, and his 1833 bill for the extension of juries was only passed with his casting vote and with conservative amendments.
Appalled by the excessive punishments doled out to convicts, Bourke initiated 'The Magistrates Act', which simplified existing regulations and limited the sentence a magistrate could pass to fifty lashes (previously there was no such limit). The bill was passed by the Legislature because Bourke presented evidence that magistrates were exceeding their powers and passing illegal sentences, in part because regulations were complex and confusing. However, 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, and this issue was exploited by his opponents.
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
.
Bourke 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.
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 attempted to set up a system of national non-denomination schools. He 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 UK Prime Minister.
Bourke Street
in Melbourne's central business district and the town of Bourke, New South Wales
were named after him, in turn. The County of Bourke, Victoria, which includes Melbourne, and Bourke County, New South Wales
were also named after him.
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 to general
in 1851. He died near Limerick
, Ireland
in 1855 and is buried in Castleconnell
.
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...
(4 May 1777 – 13 August 1855)
was Governor
Governors of New South Wales
The Governor of New South Wales is the state viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who is equally shared with 15 other sovereign nations in a form of personal union, as well as with the eleven other jurisdictions of Australia, and resides predominantly in her...
of the Colony of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
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...
between 1831 and 1837.
Early life and career
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Bourke was educated at WestminsterWestminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and read law at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
. He was a cousin of Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
and spent school and university holidays at Burke's home, and acquired some influential friends. He joined the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
as an ensign in the Grenadier Guards on 22 November 1798, serving in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
with the Duke of York before a posting in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
in 1807 where he participated in the siege and storming of Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
. He was promoted major-general in 1821. He retired from the army after the Peninsular War to live on his Irish estate but eventually sought Government office to increase his income. He was appointed to the Cape Colony and was promoted to Lieutenant-Governor of the Eastern District of the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
, acting as Governor for both eastern and Western Districts. Under Bourke's governorship, much was done to reform the old, mercantilist system of government inherited from the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
at the Cape.
Public life
Bourke was an avowed Whig. In November 1830 the Whigs won government in a climate of reform. Bourke was appointed to succeed Sir Ralph DarlingRalph Darling
General Sir Ralph Darling, GCH was a British colonial Governor and Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1831.-Early career:...
as Governor of New South Wales in 1831.
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
always opposed him. (The exclusives were hostile to the participation of ex-convicts ('emancipists') in civil life and hence were opposed to changes which moved the colony from military to civil governance.) Bourke described himself as being 'pretty much in the situation that Earl Grey would find himself in if all members of his Cabinet were Ultra Tories and he could neither turn them out nor leave them'.
Bourke had authority from the Colonial Office to extend trial by jury and substitute civil for military juries in criminal cases. He managed this despite fierce opposition from the legislature, and his 1833 bill for the extension of juries was only passed with his casting vote and with conservative amendments.
Appalled by the excessive punishments doled out to convicts, Bourke initiated 'The Magistrates Act', which simplified existing regulations and limited the sentence a magistrate could pass to fifty lashes (previously there was no such limit). The bill was passed by the Legislature because Bourke presented evidence that magistrates were exceeding their powers and passing illegal sentences, in part because regulations were complex and confusing. However, 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, and this issue was exploited by his opponents.
In 1835 Bourke implemented the doctrine of terra nullius
Terra nullius
Terra nullius is a Latin expression deriving from Roman law meaning "land belonging to no one" , which is used in international law to describe territory which has never been subject to the sovereignty of any state, or over which any prior sovereign has expressly or implicitly relinquished...
by proclaiming that Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
could not sell or assign land, nor could an individual person acquire it, other than through distribution by the Crown
Crown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
.
Bourke 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
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
to Australia in 1840 can be attributable to the actions of Bourke.
Bourke abolished the distinction of the Anglican Church
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
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 attempted to set up a system of national non-denomination schools. He 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
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
the UK Prime Minister.
Bourke Street
Bourke Street, Melbourne
Bourke Street is one of Melbourne's best known streets. Historically been regarded as Melbourne's "second street", with the main street being Collins Street and "busier than Bourke Street" is a popular catchphrase. Bourke Street has traditionally been Melbourne's entertainment hub...
in Melbourne's central business district and the town of Bourke, New South Wales
Bourke, New South Wales
-Transportation:Bourke can be reached by the Mitchell Highway, with additional sealed roads from town to the north , east and south . The town is also served by Bourke Airport and has Countrylink bus service to other regional centres, like Dubbo...
were named after him, in turn. The County of Bourke, Victoria, which includes Melbourne, and Bourke County, New South Wales
Bourke County, New South Wales
Bourke County is one of the 141 Cadastral divisions of New South Wales. It contains the town of Ardlethan. The Murrumbidgee River is the southern boundary.Bourke County was named in honour of Sir Richard Bourke Governor ....
were also named after him.
There is a statue of Bourke outside the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
which records his accomplishments as Governor in florid detail.
Bourke was promoted to general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
in 1851. He died near Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1855 and is buried in Castleconnell
Castleconnell
Castleconnell is a scenic village on the banks of the River Shannon, some from Limerick city and within a few minutes walk of the boundaries with counties Clare and Tipperary....
.
External links
- Images and transcript of Sir Richard Bourke's journal at the State Library of Victoria.
- Hazel King, 'Bourke, Sir Richard (1777 - 1855)', Australian Dictionary of BiographyAustralian Dictionary of BiographyThe Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
, Volume 1, MUP, 1966, pp 128–133.