The Right Honourable Sir George Bowen GCMG |
|
---|---|
1st Governor of Queensland | |
In office 10 December 1859 – 4 January 1868 |
|
Monarch | Victoria |
Succeeded by | Samuel Blackall |
5th Governor of New Zealand | |
In office 5 February 1868 – 19 March 1873 |
|
Monarch | Victoria |
Premier |
Edward Stafford William Fox George Waterhouse |
Preceded by | Sir George Grey |
Succeeded by | Sir James Fergusson |
5th Governor of Victoria | |
In office 30 July 1873 – 22 February 1879 |
|
Monarch | Victoria |
Preceded by | Sir John Manners-Sutton |
Succeeded by | George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby |
13th Governor of Mauritius | |
In office 1879–1883 |
|
Monarch | Victoria |
9th Governor of Hong Kong | |
In office 30 March 1883 – 6 October 1887 |
|
Monarch | Victoria |
Preceded by | Sir John Pope Hennessy |
Succeeded by | Sir George William Des Vœux |
Personal details | |
Born |
Taughboyne, County Donegal, Ireland, UK |
2 November 1821
Died | 21 February 1899 Brighton, Sussex, England, UK |
(aged 77)
Nationality | British |
Spouse(s) |
Contessa Diamantina Roma Florence Bowen |
Alma mater | Brasenose College, Oxford |
Profession | colonial administrator |
Religion | Church of England |
Sir George Ferguson Bowen, GCMG (2 November 1821 – 21 February 1899) was a British author and colonial administrator whose appointments included postings to the Ionian Islands, Queensland, New Zealand, Victoria, Mauritius and Hong Kong.
Bowen was born the eldest son of the Rev. Edward Bowen, rector of Taughboyne in County Donegal. Bowen was educated at Charterhouse School and Trinity College, Oxford. Bowen, twice President of the Oxford Union, was awarded a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in classics in 1844, and was elected a fellow of Brasenose College. Bowen was called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn in 1844 and obtained his Master of Arts three years later. In 1846 Bowen had some naval training, serving for sixteen days on HMS Victory. In 1847 Bowen was appointed president of the Ionian University located in Corfu, a post he held until 1851.
Bowen became the chief secretary to the government of the Ionian Islands in 1854. While in that post, he married the Contessa Diamantina di Roma on 28 April 1856. Diamantina was the daughter of Conte Giorgio-Candiano Roma and his wife Contessa Orsola, née di Balsamo. The Roma family were local aristocracy; her father being the President of the Ionian Senate, titular head of the Islands, from 1850 to 1856. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1855 and was advanced to Knight Commander (KCMG) in the following year.