Francis Hartwell Henslowe (1811–1878) was a British-born

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, business manager and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

who worked in England, Australia and India. Born in England, Henslowe was the son of Edward Prentis Henslowe (1772–1857) and Cecilia Maria Barthelemon. In 1839, he emigrated to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, then moved in 1841 to

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. In Tasmania, Henslowe was appointed private secretary to

Sir John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and thro ...

and then became the Police Magistrate at

Campbell Town, Tasmania Campbell Town is a town in Tasmania, Australia, on the Midland Highway (Tasmania), Midland Highway. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 823. History Traditional owners of the Campbell Town area The traditional owners, traditio ...

in 1843. In 1851, Henslowe was appointed Clerk of the Executive and Legislative Councils of the

Parliament of Tasmania The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the governor of Tasmania (as representative of the King), the Legislative Counci ...

. As described by a contemporary. "from his amiable and obliging disposition secured the esteem of the members of the House." Henslowe retired from his government post due to bad health and weak eyesight in 1864. Henslowe then moved to the

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

area of India, where he worked as the manager of a large

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

company. He held this job for ten years with a salary of 1,500 pounds a year. Around 1874, Henslowe returned to England, where he retired permanently. Henslowe died in England in 1878. Henslowe married the daughter of Canon Allwood, a resident of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. The couple had two sons and two daughters. Both sons held appointments in the Madras Survey Department.

References

External links

* http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010492b.htm 1811 births 1878 deaths British people in colonial India 19th-century composers Australian male composers Australian composers 19th-century British male musicians {{Australia-musician-stub