Major-General Frederick Holt Robe CB (1801 – 4 April 1871) was the fourth

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

, from 25 October 1845 to 2 August 1848.

Early career

Frederick Holt Robe entered the Royal Staff Corps as an

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in 1817, following his father, Sir William Robe who was a colonel in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. He was promoted

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

in 1825, transferred to the 84th Foot in 1827, transferred to the

87th Foot The 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot to form the Princess Victoria's (Roy ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1833, brevetted major in 1841, and promoted major in 1846. He fought in the Syrian campaign of 1840–1, and was military secretary in

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

and

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

Governor of South Australia

Robe was appointed as Governor of South Australia, being sworn in on 25 October 1845. He was not popular as the governor, as he attempted to carry out his understanding of the British government's requirement to charge

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

on the mineral wealth of the province. This was rejected by the elected members of the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the South Australian House of Assembly, H ...

as a breach of faith. There was also trouble over the question of State aid to religion, which Robe favoured, but which was strongly opposed. After requesting to be relieved of the post of governor, he was posted again to Mauritius as deputy quartermaster. He was honourable and confident in his convictions, but too conservative for the fledgling colony of South Australia. He returned to England in 1848.

Aboriginal Witnesses Act

Between 1846 and 1848, Robe was responsible for the enactment of a series ordinances and amendments first enacted by his predecessor lieutenant Governor George Grey, in 1844. Entitled the Aboriginal Witnesses Act. The act was established "To facilitate the admission of the unsworn testimony of Aboriginal inhabitants of South Australia and parts adjacent". While its stated aim was to make provisions for unsworn

testimony Testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. Law In the law, testimon ...

by "uncivilised people" to be admissible in court, the act made it so that the court could not base the conviction of a White man on the testimony of an Aboriginal witness alone. The act also made Aboriginal testimony inadmissible in trials that carried the penalty of death.The acts: * * * * Further detail: * * Effectively, the act created a situation where settler solidarity and the law of evidence ensured that the murder and

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Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

by European colonisers could not be tried solely on the evidence of Aboriginal witnesses.

Other roles

Robe was inaugural president of the

Savings Bank of South Australia The Savings Bank of South Australia was a bank founded in the colony of South Australia in 1848, based in Adelaide. In the early 20th century it established a presence in schools by setting up a special category of savings accounts for schoolch ...

(founded 1848).

Promotions and honours

Robe was brevetted lieutenant colonel in 1847, promoted lieutenant colonel in 1853, brevetted

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1854, and promoted major general in 1862. He was appointed Colonel of the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment from 1869 until his death. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB) in 1848.

Death and legacy

He died unmarried in

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London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on 4 April 1871. The town of

Robe, South Australia Robe is a town and fishing port located in the Limestone Coast region in the south-eastern part of South Australia. The town's distinctive combination of historical buildings, ocean, fishing fleets, lakes and dense bush attracts many tourists. ...

is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robe, Frederick 1801 births 1871 deaths People from Woolwich Governors of South Australia Governors of the Colony of South Australia British Army major generals Royal Staff Corps officers 84th Regiment of Foot officers 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot officers British military personnel of the Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–1841) British colonial governors and administrators in Oceania