George Arthur
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This article is about the colonial governor of Tasmania; for the Member of Parliament during the early 20th century, see George Arthur (MP).
Sir George Arthur (June 21, 1784 - September 19, 1854) was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) in 1823 and took office on May 14 1824. For the next 12 years he was responsible for the colony, which was separated from New South Wales in 1825. In 1836, Arthur's autocratic and authoritarian rule led to his recall. By this time he was one of the wealthiest men in the colony.
It was during Arthur's time in office that Tasmania gained much of its notorious reputation as a harsh penal colony. He selected Port Arthur as the ideal location for a prison settlement -- a peninsula connected by a narrow, easily guarded isthmus, surrounded by shark-infested seas.
He is also associated with the repression and genocidal persecution of the Aboriginal population. During the 1820s, with relations between the colonists and Aborigines worsening, Arthur declared a state of martial law, and the conflict became known as the Black War. After Aboriginal attacks on colonist, Arthur organized the Black Line fiasco, which was intended to drive the Aborigines onto peninsulas where they could be controlled.
Before appointment to Van Diemen's Land, Arthur served in the army during the Napoleonic Wars in Europe and Egypt. He also served as the Lieutenant-Governor of British Honduras from 1814 – 1822.
External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=37874)
Predeceded by: Sir Francis Bond Head |
Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada | Followed by: Baron Sydenham |