George Strahan (colonial administrator)

Major Sir George Strahan KCMG
67th Governor of the Gold Coast Colony
In office June 1874 – 7 April 1876
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Preceded by	Charles Lees
Succeeded by	Charles Lees
14th Governor of Barbados and the Windward Islands
In office 1876–1880
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Preceded by	Sir John Pope Hennessy
Succeeded by	D.J. Gamble
5th Governor of Tasmania
In office 7 December 1881 – 28 October 1886
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Preceded by	Frederick Weld
Succeeded by	Robert George Crookshank Hamilton
Personal details
Born	(1838-12-09)9 December 1838 Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
Died	17 February 1887(1887-02-17) (aged 48) Bournemouth, Dorset, England, United Kingdom
Spouse	Catherine Livingstone
Alma mater	Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1857 –
Rank	Major
Unit	Royal Artillery

Major Sir George Cumine Strahan KCMG (9 December 1838 – 17 February 1887) was a British military officer and colonial administrator, best known as the Governor of Tasmania from 1881 to 1886.

Early life and military career

Strahan was born on 9 December 1838 in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in the United Kingdom. After graduating from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, he joined the Royal Artillery corps of the British Army as a lieutenant in 1857.

Colonial career

Strahan was assigned as aide-de-camp to the last two Lord High Commissioners of the Ionian Islands: William Ewart Gladstone (actually High Commissioner Extraordinary, later to become Prime Minister) and Sir Henry Storks. When Storks was appointed Governor of Malta in 1864, Strahan accompanied him and served his successor, Sir Patrick Grant, until 1868 when he was made chief secretary of Malta. Further administrative appointments in various capacities followed in the Bahamas (colonial secretary 1868–1872, acting governor 1872–1873), Lagos Colony (administrator 1873–1874), Gold Coast (governor 1874–1876) and the Windward Islands/Barbados (governor 1876–1880).

Governor of Tasmania

Strahan was appointed Governor of Tasmania in April 1880, and was knighted shortly after. He did not, however, take up the appointment until arriving in Hobart in December 1881. The long delay was caused by Strahan acting as administrator of the Cape Colony and high commissioner to Southern Africa until the arrival of Sir Hercules Robinson.

Strahan was a popular governor in Tasmania, regarded as attentive to education, health and rural industry. His own health was occasionally questioned, and the spells of illness he suffered during his term were put down to having spent so many years in the tropical climates of the Caribbean and Africa.

Strahan left Tasmania in October 1886, and returned to England via Melbourne. He was appointed as Governor of Hong Kong to replace Sir George Bowen, but died in Bournemouth on 17 February 1887 before he could take up the appointment.

Legacy

The town of Strahan on the West Coast of Tasmania was named after George Strahan in 1892.

References

• Neil Smith, 'Strahan, Sir George Cumine (1838–1887)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 6, Melbourne University Press, 1976, pp 203–204.