Sir Charles Du Cane (5 December 1825 – 25 February 1889) was a British

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politician and colonial administrator who was a

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between 1852 and 1854 and Governor of Tasmania from 1868 to 1874. Du Cane was born in

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

on the

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in 1825, the son of Charles Du Cane of Braxted Park and Frances Prideaux-Brune. He was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

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and Exeter College, Oxford. From 1848 to 1855, Du Cane played first-class cricket for the

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as a batsman; a younger brother,

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, also played first-class cricket. In 1852, he was elected to the House of Commons as a

(MP) for

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, but his election was declared void after it was discovered that Du Cane's agents had been involved in bribery although it was established that Du Cane was unaware of the corruption. He spent two years as Civil Lord of the Admiralty. At the 1857 general election he was elected as MP for Northern Essex, and held the seat until the division was abolished at the 1868 general election. Du Cane was appointed Governor of Tasmania, and was sworn in at Hobart Town on 15 January 1869. He faced a minor constitutional crisis when the Premier of Tasmania, James Milne Wilson, threatened to resign after a taxation scheme he had proposed was defeated in parliament, which would have left Tasmania without a government, although Wilson withdrew his resignation and a general election took place. Du Cane's tenure in Tasmania saw the colony grow strong and prosperous, partly due to industrial and resources booms and the improvement of communication between Tasmania, the mainland and England. He left Hobart in November 1874, and was appointed KCMG the next year after his return to England. Du Cane died at his family estate in Braxted Park, Essex on 25 February 1889.Rimmer, Gordon
'Du Cane, Sir Charles (1825–1889)'

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, Volume 4, Melbourne University Press, 1972, pp 106–107.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Du Cane, Charles 1825 births 1889 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School Governors of Tasmania Lords of the Admiralty Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers People from Ryde Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 English cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Colony of Tasmania people Members of Parliament for Maldon

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