Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster

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Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster

Henry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster GCMG PC DL (born January 31, 1866 in Kent , Great Britain , † January 15, 1936 in London , Great Britain) was a British politician and the seventh Governor General of Australia .

Early life

Forster was born in Kent , England , the son of an Army officer. He received an excellent education at Eton College and Oxford University . In 1890 he married Rachel Cecily Douglas-Scott-Montagu, daughter of Henry Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Beaulieu .

He was also a first class cricketer , mainly for Oxford University , and was President of Marylebone Cricket Club , the most famous cricket club in the world.

Political career

House of Commons & House of Lords

Forster was elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative for Sevenoaks in 1892. He served in government under Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury . He was also represented in the coalition government during the First World War .

In 1919 he was promoted to Peer Baron Forster , of Lepe in the County of Southampton and inducted into the House of Lords . In June 1920 he was offered the post of Governor General of Australia , which he accepted. Shortly thereafter, on June 28, 1920, he was named Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George .

Governor General

Forster was the first Governor General whose appointment was actually co-determined by Australia, as the Colonial Minister , Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner , proposed two other candidates to the Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes , whereupon Hughes selected Baron Forster. Forster arrived in Australia in October 1920 . Forster had to realize that the congenial cooperation in the politics of pre-war Australia was destroyed by political power struggles during and after the war. At the time of Forster's arrival, the Nationalist Party of Australia was dominated by Premier Hughes, while the Australian Labor Party was more pacifist and socialist than before.

In the five years that Forster held the office of Governor General, he played hardly any role in the country's politics. Forster was not involved in the only change of government during his tenure, when Billy Hughes was replaced by Stanley Bruce in February 1923 . Due to the increased national self-confidence and the political independence from Great Britain, the office of the governor general as a mediator and contact person lost more and more importance. While his direct predecessor, Ronald Munro-Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar , opposed this trend, Forster accepted the loss of importance of his office. His role was equivalent to that of a modern governor general. From then on, Forster was given exclusively representative tasks such as opening parties, visiting hospitals, attending sporting events, and hosting balls and banquets. This resulted in a significantly greater popularity among the population for Forster than for all his predecessors, but until then he had the least influence of all governors-general in Australia. Forster and his wife worked mainly for charitable purposes and traveled all over the country.

The Rachel Forster Hospital for Women was founded in 1925 in honor of Lady Forster in Redfern , Sydney . After this was closed in the meantime, it has now been rebuilt. There is also a Lady Forster Kindergarten in Port Melbourne, Victoria.

Late years

The Forsters left Australia in October 1925. Until his death in 1936 Forster lived with his family near Southampton and led a quiet life away from politics. Lady Forster was appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 1926. She was also appointed a Lady of Grace of the Order of Malta .

The two sons of Baron Forster and his wife, John Forster and Alfred Henry Forster, both perished during the First World War . Baron Forster left two daughters, Dorothy Charlotte Forster and Emily Rachel Forster. Since he had no male descendants when he died, the title Baron Forster died out with him .

Web links u. swell

Commons : Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Cricket Archives. Retrieved February 3, 2011 .
  2. ^ Parliament.nsw.gov.au, Rachel Forster Hospital Closure
  3. ↑ redwatch.org.au, ´ Redevelopment of former Rachel Forster Hospital, Redfern
personal data
SURNAME Forster, Henry, 1st Baron Forster
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Forster, Henry William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician, Member of the House of Commons, Governor General of Australia
DATE OF BIRTH January 31, 1866
PLACE OF BIRTH Kent , England
DATE OF DEATH January 15, 1936
Place of death London , England