June 1875: Fiji’s first Governor, Sir Arthur Gordon, arrived from Australia

In his retirement: After he was raised to the peerage in 1893, Gordon was an active member of the House of Lords Committees, and frequently spoke on colonial matters. He continued his writing begun by an account of an expedition he made while in New Brunswick, and published under the title Wilderness Journeys in New Brunswick in 1864. In 1893 he published a life of his father, The Earl of Aberdeen, and in 1906, Sydney Herbert, Lord Herbert of Lea: A Memoir. Between 1897 and 1910 he published privately several volumes selected from his own papers on Fiji and Mauritius.

Anglican High Churchman:Gordon was a High Churchman, and as a young man had worked with Samuel Wilberforce and Henry Phillpotts to restore convocation to an active part in church government. He remained a member of the House of Laymen in the province of Canterbury until his death.
Marriage: In 1865 Gordon married Rachel, the eldest daughter of Sir John Shaw Lefevre, a distinguished lawyer and at that time Clerk of Parliament. They had one son and one daughter. Lady Gordon died in 1889. Gordon died in London on 30 January 1912. The funeral service was held at St. Paul’s, Wilton Place, and he was buried at All Souls, South Ascot. He was succeeded by his son, George Arthur Maurice Hamilton Gordon, born 1871.

References: Owen Wilfred Parnaby, B.A.(MELB.), D.PHIL.(OXON.), Associate Professor of History, University of Auckland. Stanmore Papers (Add. MSS.) British Museum History of New Zealand, Rusden, G. W. (1883) Pacific Historica.l Review, May 1959, Sir Arthur Gordon and New Zealand, 1880-1882, Knaplund, Paul Britain in Fiji, 185880, Legge, J. D. (1958) Life in the Pacific Fifty Years Ago, Maudslay, A. P. (1930).

References available: GORDON, Arthur Charles Hamilton, First Baron Stanmore GORDON, Arthur Charles Hamilton-, 1st Baron Stanmore [1829-1912]. Scope: Two file boxes of printed material received with the Stanmore Papers (which are held in the Department of Manuscripts). Access: Contact rare-books@bl.uk.

http://www.bl.uk/welcome/images/strapline.gif (1829-1912). Web accessed 2004