Page:The Dictionary of Australasian Biography.djvu/168

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DICTIONARY OF AUSTRALASIAN BIOGRAPHY.
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1853 he retired and went to England, and in December of the following year was appointed Governor of the island of St. Vincent, and subsequently Lieut.-Governor of the Leeward Islands. On July 13th, 1864, he was made Captain-General and Governor-General-in-Chief and Vice-Admiral of Jamaica. It was during his tenure of office that the insurrection broke out in Oct. 1865, but owing to his energetic measures it was completely crushed. His action, especially in relation to the execution under sentence of court martial of George William Gordon, a mulatto of property, was, however, much canvassed in England, and he was recalled, and a commission of inquiry appointed to investigate the charges against him. The result was to exonerate him from blame; but his accusers, not content with the issue, instituted proceedings against him, which lasted for four years, but came to nothing. A "Jamaica committee" was formed to carry on the prosecution, which led to a defence fund being started. Mr. Eyre was then prosecuted for murder before the magistrates of Market Drayton, in Shropshire, but they declined to commit him for trial. Subsequent proceedings before the Court of Queen's Bench also proved abortive. Mr. Eyre is the author of "Discoveries in Central Australia," 1845; "Journals of Expeditions and Discovery into Central Australia, and Overland from Adelaide to King George's Sound," 1846. He resides at Steeple Aston, in Oxfordshire.


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Fairfax, Rear-Admiral Henry, C.B., second son of Colonel Sir Henry Fairfax, Bart., was born in 1837, and entered the Royal Navy in 1850, becoming commander in 1862, captain in 1868, and rear-admiral in 1885. He was naval attaché to Sir Bartle Frere's mission to Zanzibar in 1872-3; private secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty in 1873-4; and was created C.B. (Civil Division) in 1879, and Military Division in 1882. He commanded H.M.S. Monarch at the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882, for which he received a medal, the Khedive's bronze star and the 3rd class Osmanlieh. He was naval aide-de-camp to the Queen from 1879 to 1885 and Commander-in-Chief on the Australian station from 1887 to 1889, assuming the command on the 17th of April in the former year. In 1889 Admiral Fairfax became Second Naval Lord of the Admiralty. Admiral Fairfax married, in 1872, Harriet, daughter of Sir David Kinloch, 9th Bart.

Fairfax, Hon. John, M.L.C., whose reputation is inseparably identified with the pioneer days of Australian journalism, was born at Warwick in 1804. Trained as a compositor, he obtained employment on the Morning Chronicle of London at the completion of his apprenticeship; but, after a time, returned to his native county and commenced business as a printer and bookseller at Leamington, where he started the Leamington Spa Chronicle. The venture was successful; but an outspoken criticism upon the conduct of public officials resulted in a prosecution for libel. Mr. Fairfax successfully defended his position; but was overwhelmed with the heavy costs of litigation, and this circumstance caused him to emigrate to Sydney in 1838. He obtained employment on the Sydney Herald, which had begun its career in 1831, and was then issued bi-weekly by Mr. F. M. Stokes, and as a daily in 1840. Mr. Fairfax also obtained the position of librarian to the Australian Subscription Library in Sydney, Sept. 13th, 1838. His energy, prudence, and enterprise secured him powerful friends. The proprietor of the Herald wishing to retire from business, the paper was purchased in 1841 by Mr. Fairfax and Mr. C. Kemp, a reporter, for the sum of £10,000, which was partly advanced by friends of the new proprietors. The partnership prospered, and the foundation of the great future success of the Herald was securely laid. The paper has always jealously asserted its independence, and has never been considered a party journal. It has been conducted with rare moderation and unusual literary ability, and has secured an amount of commercial support which is unprecedented even in the colonies. In 1851 Mr. Fairfax revisited Leamington,

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