Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson

Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson

Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson (born August 11, 1852 in Twickenham , England , † December 2, 1928 in Freshwater , England) was the second Governor General of Australia and Governor of South Australia .

Life

Hallam Tennyson was born on August 11, 1852 in Chapel House in Twickenham near London . He was the eldest son of Alfred Tennyson , a poet of the Victorian era . Hallam attended Marlborough College and Trinity College , Cambridge. He did not graduate from law school because he had to support his parents because of their poor health.

1884 his father was Baron Tennyson to peer collected. That same year, Tennyson married Audrey Boyle. Shortly before, a relationship with Mary Gladstone, a daughter of William Ewart Gladstone , had failed. After the death of his father in 1892 he inherited his baron title. Tennyson's book Tennyson: a Memoir , a biography of the father, he published in 1897.

Like his father, Tennyson was an ardent supporter of British imperialism . In 1883 he became a councilor of the Imperial Federation League , a lobby group that supported the right-wing conservative policies of Colonial Minister Joseph Chamberlain . Chamberlain offered him the position of Governor of South Australia in January 1899 . After much deliberation, Tennyson finally accepted and arrived in Adelaide in April of that year . Tennyson feared that the post would be abolished or at least placed under a governor general in the course of Australia's independence. He turned out to be right, for with the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, the office of Governor General of Australia was created and John Hope was its first official.

In July 1902 Hope resigned surprisingly in the dispute over salary payments. Tennyson initially took over the office temporarily and was officially appointed Governor General in January 1903. However, he limited his term of office to one year from the outset. In contrast to its predecessor, it was popular with the population. On the other hand, his relationship with the two prime ministers during his term in office, Alfred Deakin and Edmund Barton , was tense, as they were suspicious of him as representatives of the former colonial power. Tennyson contributed to this with his behavior, for example by staying away from the celebrations of Australian independence.

In January 1904 Tennyson left Australia after the end of his tenure and spent the rest of his life on the Isle of Wight , of which he became Deputy Governor in 1913. Tennyson died in the Farringford House family estate in Freshwater in December 1928 . The title passed to his son Lionel , who became known as the captain of the England national cricket team.

Awards

• Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1899)
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1903)

literature

• Roma D. Hodgkinson: Tennyson, Hallam . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1966–2012 (English).

Web links

Commons : Hallam Tennyson  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Alfred Tennyson	Baron Tennyson 1892-1928	Lionel Tennyson