The Right Honourable Sir George Grey KCB |
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Sir George Grey in 1861
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3rd Governor of South Australia | |
In office 15 May 1841 – 25 October 1845 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Preceded by | Colonel George Gawler |
Succeeded by | Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Robe |
3rd Governor of New Zealand | |
In office 18 November 1845 – 3 January 1854 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Preceded by | Captain Robert FitzRoy |
Succeeded by | Colonel Thomas Gore Browne |
In office 4 December 1861 – 5 February 1868 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Premier |
William Fox Alfred Domett Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld Edward Stafford |
Preceded by | Colonel Thomas Gore Browne |
Succeeded by | Sir George Bowen |
Governor of Cape Colony | |
In office 1854–1861 |
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Preceded by | George Cathcart (Charles Henry Darling acting) |
Succeeded by | Philip Edmond Wodehouse (Robert Wynyard acting) |
11th Premier of New Zealand | |
In office 13 October 1877 – 8 October 1879 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Governor |
George Phipps Hercules Robinson |
Preceded by | Harry Atkinson |
Succeeded by | John Hall |
Personal details | |
Born |
Lisbon, Portugal |
14 April 1812
Died | 19 September 1898 South Kensington, London, England |
(aged 86)
Spouse(s) | Eliza Spencer (m. 1839) |
Relations |
Seymour Thorne George (nephew) John Gray (uncle) |
Children | 1 |
Education | Royal Grammar School, Guildford |
Alma mater | Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst |
Religion | Anglican |
Signature |
Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony (South Africa), the 11th Premier of New Zealand and a writer. By political philosophy a Gladstonian liberal and Georgist, Grey eschewed the class system for the prosaic life of Auckland's new governance he helped to establish.
Grey was born in Lisbon, Portugal, the only son of Bvt. Lieutenant-Colonel George Grey, of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot, who was killed at the Battle of Badajoz in Spain just a few days before. His mother, Elizabeth Anne née Vignoles, on the balcony of her hotel in Lisbon, overheard two officers speak of her husband's death and this brought on the premature birth of the child. She was the daughter of a retired soldier turned Irish clergyman, Major later Rev. John Vignoles. Grey's grandfather was Owen Wynne Gray (c. 1745 – 6 January 1819). Grey's uncle was John Gray, who was Owen Wynne Gray's son from his second marriage.
Grey was sent to the Royal Grammar School, Guildford in Surrey, and was admitted to the Royal Military College in 1826. Early in 1830, he was gazetted ensign in the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot. In 1830, his regiment having been sent to Ireland, he developed much sympathy with the Irish peasantry whose misery made a great impression on him. He was promoted lieutenant in 1833 and obtained a first-class certificate at the examinations of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1836.