Charles Fitzgerald
CB
Governor of Western Australia
In office
12 August 1848 – 22 July 1855 (1848-08-12 – 1855-07-22)
Preceded byFrederick Chidley Irwin
Succeeded bySir Arthur Kennedy
Governor of The Gambia
In office
9 December 1844 – 18 April 1847 (1844-12-09 – 1847-04-18)
Preceded byEdmund Nash Norcott
Succeeded bySir Richard MacDonnell
Personal details
BornUnknown date, c. 1791
Kilkee, County Clare, Ireland
Died (aged 96)
Kilkee, County Clare, Ireland
Military service
Branch
Service years1809–1856
RankCaptain

Charles Fitzgerald CB (c. 1791 – 29 December 1887) was an Irish officer in the Royal Navy and Governor of The Gambia from 1844 until 1847, then Governor of Western Australia from 1848 to 1855.[1]

Son of William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster, Fitzgerald joined the Royal Navy in March 1809, passed his examination in 1815, and was commissioned in March 1826.[1]

Soon after his arrival in Western Australia in 1848, Fitzgerald accompanied Augustus Gregory on an expedition in the Northampton region where Gregory and his brother had discovered lead the year before. An encounter with Aboriginal people resulted in Fitzgerald being speared in the leg and at least three Aborigines shot dead.[2]

The town of Geraldton, Western Australia, was named after him.[1]

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 Crowley, F. K. "FitzGerald, Charles (1791–1887)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  2. ↑ Stannage, C.T. (1981). A New History of Western Australia. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands. p. 97.

Bibliography

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