# The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Clarke, Lieut.-General Hon. Sir Andrew

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​Clarke, Lieut.-General Hon. Sir Andrew, R.E., G.C.M.G., C.B., C.I.E., eldest son of the late Colonel Andrew Clarke, K.H., of Belmont, co. Donegal, Governor of Western Australia from 1846 to 1847, and Frances his wife, was born on July 27th, 1824, at Southsea, Hants, and after a successful career at the Woolwich Academy entered the Royal Engineers in 1844, as second lieutenant. In 1846 he was appointed aide-de-camp to the late Sir William Denison, who was then about to assume the Governorship of Van Diemen's Land, and acted in that capacity till 1848, when he served in New Zealand until the close of the war, when he was sent on a mission to Heke. In 1849 he returned to Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, and acted as Sir William Denison's private secretary till 1853, when he was appointed Surveyor-General and Chief Commissioner of Crown Lands of Victoria, with a seat in the Legislative Council. On responsible government being inaugurated in Nov. 1855, Captain Clarke (as he then was) was included in the Haines Ministry, and being; sworn of the Executive Council, continued to act as Surveyor-General. In his address to the electors of South Melbourne, in Sept. 1856, he advocated an energetic railway policy, a reform in the constitution, the abolition of the property qualification for members of Parliament, a readjustment of the electoral districts on the basis of population, the extension of the municipal system, and the abolition of the technical difficulties which encumbered the transfer of real estate. The working men of the colony took great interest in Captain Clarke's candidature, and drew up an address to the electors of South Melbourne, urging them to return him. After his election to the first Legislative Assembly of Victoria, and while a member of the Haines Administration, he carried several railway bills through Parliament, and took an active part in the policy of his colleagues. In March 1857 the Government was defeated by a motion brought forward by Mr. (afterwards Sir John) O'Shanassy, and resigned office. But the new Government only lasted six weeks, and on April 29th Mr. Haines returned to power. But Captain Clarke did not go into office with him, as he dissented from his new policy, and less than twelve months afterwards defeated his former colleagues on the bill for the representation of minorities, and was requested by the Governor, Sir Henry Barkly, to form an Administration. Be made the attempt, and obtained the co-operation of Mr. O'Shanassy, while Sir William Stawell, who was then Chief Justice, volunteered to resign his seat on the bench and take office as Attorney-General. But one of the conditions demanded by Captain Clarke was a dissolution, and as Sir Henry Barkly did not see his way to grant that request, Captain Clarke gave up the attempt to form an Administration, and Mr. O'Shanassy took office with Mr. Duffy, Mr. Chapman, Mr. Ireland, and others as his colleagues, in March 1858. This was the last occasion on which Captain Clarke took a personal part in Victorian politics, and he left Victoria towards the end of the year on a confidential mission with which he was entrusted by Mr. O'Shanassy to assist, with his advice, the six associated banks who were entrusted with the flotation of the first Victorian loan. In 1859 he was suggested for the position of the first Governor of Queensland, and his name was sent for the approval of the Cabinet, but the appointment was not made; and after being offered one or two colonial offices, he resumed his military duties in 1858. He has, however, always continued to take a keen interest in Australian affairs, and especially in those of Victoria, for which colony he was on several occasions Acting Agent-General in London down to ​1892. Sir Andrew, who was made C.B. in 1869, K.C.M.G. in 1873, C.I.E. in 1878, and G.C.M.G. in 1885, may be regarded as the founder of municipal institutions in Victoria, the official bill which he brought in for their establishment in 1855 having laid the foundation of the system, which has since been so widely and successfully extended. Through his exertions the public reserves and the National Museum were established on a permanent basis, and the first Melbourne Industrial Exhibition was initiated by him. Sir Andrew Clarke, who became captain in 1854, major and lieut.-colonel in 1867, colonel in 1872, major-general in 1884, and who was placed on the retired list with the honorary rank of lieut.-general in 1886, was employed in various important official positions after leaving Victoria, from which colony he draws a pension of £800 per annum, under the 50th clause of the Imperial Act establishing the constitution of the colony. He was Commanding Royal Engineer of the Eastern and Midlands districts till 1863, when he went to inspect the establishments on the west coast of Africa, and was engaged in operations against the Ashantees when they invaded the Gold Coast Colony. Sir Andrew was Director of Works of the Navy from 1864 to 1873, and in this capacity designed and executed the great extension of National dockyards. From 1873 to 1875 he was Governor of the Straits Settlements, and initiated and conducted the operations which stamped out piracy and established the permanent authority of the Crown. In 1875 Sir Andrew was employed on a special mission to Siam, and from that year till 1880, was director of Indian Public Works, and a member of the Council of the Viceroy. From 1881 to 1882 he was Commandant of the School of Military Engineering at Chatham, and from the latter year until 1886 Inspector General of Fortifications. Sir Andrew, who was a member of the Royal Commission for the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, and a member of the Commissions in London for the Melbourne Exhibitions of 1880 and 1888, unsuccessfully contested Chatham against Sir John Gorst, in 1886, as a Gladstonian Liberal. As acting Agent-General and otherwise he has warmly vindicated the right of Australia to dominate the Western Pacific, and to prevent the intrusion of France and Germany. He married, in 1867, Mary Margaret Ellen, eldest daughter of Charles W. Mackillop, formerly of the Indian Civil Service.