Sir George Ruthven Le Hunte (20 August 1852 – 29 January 1925) was a British politician. He served as

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gen ...

from 1 July 1903 until 18 February 1909, soon after federation of Australia.

Life

He was born in

Porthgain Porthgain ( Welsh for ''fair/beautiful port or more likely 'chisel port' from the Welsh 'porth' meaning port and 'gaing' meaning chisel as used by the many slate workers there after the port was built and became operational in the early 19th Cen ...

, Pembrokeshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, the son of George and Mary Le Hunte. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. Le Hunte served as President of Dominica (1887–94), secretary of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...

(1894–97) and

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

(1897); and Lieutenant-Governor of

British New Guinea The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...

(1899–1903). He was Governor of South Australia 1903–08/9, and then Governor of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

from 1908 to 1915, retiring 1916. As South Australian Governor, Le Hunte became the first patron of the

Royal Automobile Association The Royal Automobile Association of South Australia (RAA) is a South Australian automobile club providing a range of member services. These services include: 24-hour emergency breakdown, vehicle inspection, motoring advocacy, road safety, moto ...

of South Australia when it was formed in 1903. The District Council of Le Hunte in the north of

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named af ...

was named after him before it was changed to

Wudinna District Council Wudinna District Council is a rural local government area on central Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Its seat is Wudinna, on the Eyre Highway, west of Adelaide. The district's economy is largely driven by agriculture, mainly cereal crops, with ...

in 2008.

Family

George Le Hunte married Caroline Rachel Clowes (c. 1854 – 18 May 1939) on 14 February 1884; she was a cousin of Evelyn May Clowes. They had two children: *John Le Hunte (11 August 1886 – ) married Vera Spurgin, daughter of John Henry Spurgin, on 12 August 1913. While there were reports of his being killed in action early in World War I, he was a prisoner of war; during World War II he worked in the Air Ministry. *Editha Rachel Le Hunte (c. October 1892 – ) married Godfrey Barton Pease (15 May 1887 – ) on 5 October 1912. Details of his death in WWI have also been hard to find. Other reports indicate they both survived to 1919 at least. :*Lt.-Col. Godfrey Philip Desmond Pease (19 September 1913 – 8 March 2007) :*Ann Pease ( – ) married Lt.-Col. William Eliott Lockhart

References

*Diane Langmore,
Le Hunte, Sir George Ruthven (1852–1925)
,

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 10, MUP, 1986, pp 66–67.

External links

World Statesmen – Trinindad and Tobago
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Hunte, George Governors of South Australia Governors of Trinidad and Tobago 1852 births 1925 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Colonial Administrative Service officers People from Pembrokeshire Governors of the Territory of Papua Colonial Secretaries of Barbados