Robert Herbert
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Sir Robert George Wyndham Herbert, (12 June 1831 – 6 May 1905), was the first
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
of
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia. At 28 years and 181 days of age, he was the youngest person ever to become premier of an Australian state.


Early years

Born in
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, England, on 12 June 1831, Herbert was the only son of the Hon. Algernon Herbert, a younger son of the first Earl of Carnarvon. He was educated at Eton and
Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...
. He won a Balliol scholarship in 1849 and, subsequently, the Hertford and Ireland scholarships. He took a first-class in
Classical Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ...
, won the Latin verse prize in 1852, and obtained second-class final honours in the classical school. He was elected
Fellow of All Souls All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...
in 1854, and was Eldon law scholar. In 1855, he became private secretary to
William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
and was called to the bar of the
Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...
in 1858.


Queensland colony

When Queensland was formed into a separate colony, Sir George Bowen was appointed the first governor. He arrived at Brisbane on 10 December 1859 and brought Herbert with him as his private secretary. On the day of the governor's arrival, Herbert was gazetted as colonial secretary, with Ratcliffe Pring as attorney-general. These with the governor formed an executive council to which additions were made afterwards. At the election held early in 1860, Herbert was returned unopposed for one of the Leichhardt seats in the
Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...
, and became the first
Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...
. He showed himself to be a good leader and held office from December 1859 to February 1866. During his time as Premier, four land acts were passed, and the education question was also the subject of early measures. The governor, in writing to the secretary of state, stated that the Queensland parliament "had passed a greater number of really useful measures than any other parliament in any of the Australian colonies". Certainly, the first Queensland government was in marked contrast to those of the other colonies, each of which averaged half a dozen ministries in the same period. However, Herbert fell into some disfavour when financial difficulties arose. He resigned in February 1866 and was succeeded by Arthur Macalister who served as premier until 20 July 1866. Herbert was anxious to return to England on account of private business but, at the request of the governor, formed a ministry which lasted less than three weeks and before being merged into the second Macalister ministry. Herbert then left for England, having gained the sort of experience which was to be very useful to him in later years.


Career in England

A few months after Herbert's arrival in England, he was appointed Assistant-Secretary to the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
. In 1870 was made Assistant Under-Secretary for the Colonies, while his relative,
Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, (24 June 1831 – 29 June 1890), known as Lord Porchester from 1833 to 1849, was a British politician and a leading member of the Conservative Party. He was twice Secretary of State for the ...
, was the serving Secretary of State and, in 1871, became Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. He held that position with great distinction for 21 years. In 1899/1900 he briefly took on the role as Acting Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies because of illness to Sir Edward Wingfield. His attitude was generally conciliatory and he was tactful in dealing with men who came in contact with him. In 1882, he was created K.C.B. and, in 1892, G.C.B. In the same year, he was appointed chancellor of the
Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...
. He left the Colonial Office in 1892, but afterwards took up his duties again for a few months at the special request of
Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal Party (UK), Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually was a leading New Imperialism, imperial ...
. In 1893–6, he was agent-general for Tasmania, and did active work in connection with the formation of the British Empire League. In December 1903, he was chairman of the tariff commission.


Later years

In later years, Robert Herbert suffered from heart trouble. Believing his health would benefit from a sea voyage, he went for a cruise in the Mediterranean. He met his sister in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, France, where his health worsened and he returned immediately to England. He was taken in an ambulance railway car on the
Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...
to his residence at Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, where he died on 6 May 1905.


Personal life

Robert Herbert met his companion, John Bramston, at
Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
, England in the early 1850s. The pair shared rooms at Oxford, and also in London. When Herbert was Premier of Queensland, and Bramston his Attorney-General, the two created a farm on what is now the site of the
Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) is a tertiary public hospital located in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeaste ...
. They named the farmhouse in which they both lived ''"Herston"'', a combination of their names, which is now the name of the modern day suburb. Herbert never married, and modern historians, such as
Robert Aldrich Robert Burgess Aldrich (August 9, 1918 – December 5, 1983) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. An iconoclastic and maverick '' auteur'' working in many genres during the Golden Age of Hollywood, he directed main ...
, Clive Moore, Robert French, and Garry Wotherspoon, conclude that he was likely gay. In 1864, Herbert gave this explanation as to why he had not married: "It does not seem to me reasonable to tell a man who is happy and content, to marry a woman who may turn out a great disappointment."


Legacy

Herston became the name of a modern-day
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
suburb surrounding the site of the
Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) is a tertiary public hospital located in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeaste ...
. The Herbert River is located in
Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The southernmost of Queensland's wet tropics river systems, it was named in 1864 by the explorer George Elphinstone Dalrymple after Robert Herbert. The Queensland federal electorate of Herbert, one of the original 65 divisions contested at the first federal election, was named after him. Governor George Bowen, Queensland's first Governor, appointed Sir Robert George Wyndham Herbert as first Colonial Secretary of Queensland before leaving England in 1859. This document was ranked #5 in the 'Top 150: Documenting Queensland' exhibition when it toured to venues around Queensland from February 2009 to April 2010. The exhibition was part of
Queensland State Archives The Queensland State Archives is the lead agency for public recordkeeping in Queensland, Australia. It is the custodian of the largest and most significant documentary heritage collection about Queensland. Established in 1959, Queensland Stat ...
' events and exhibition program which contributed to the state's Q150 celebrations, marking the 150th anniversary of the
separation of Queensland The Separation of Queensland was an event in 1859 in which the land that forms the present-day state of Queensland in Australia was excised from the Colony of New South Wales and proclaimed as a separate crown colony. History European settlemen ...
from New South Wales.


See also

*
Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1860–1863 This is a list of members of the 1st Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1860 to 1863, as elected at the inaugural 1860 colonial elections held between 27 April 1860 to 11 May 1860 (due to problems of distance and communications, it was not ...
; 1863–1867


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Robert 1831 births 1905 deaths Politicians from the Colony of Queensland
Robert Herbert Sir Robert George Wyndham Herbert, (12 June 1831 – 6 May 1905), was the first Premiers of Queensland, Premier of Queensland, Australia. At 28 years and 181 days of age, he was the youngest person ever to become premier of an Australian state ...
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Premiers of Queensland Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for the Colonies Civil servants in the Board of Trade Civil servants in the Colonial Office Private secretaries in the British Civil Service High sheriffs of the County of London 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian public servants People educated at Eton College