Sir Ernest Clark, (13 April 1864 – 26 August 1951) was a British civil servant who served as

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

from 1933 to 1945.

Early life and education

Ernest Clark was born on 13 April 1864 in

Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Until 1965, Plumstead was in the historic counties of England, historic county of Kent and the detail of mu ...

, Kent to teacher Samuel Henry Clark, and his wife Ann Leaver. He was educated at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, and entered the civil service in 1881, working for

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

Civil service

Clark was called to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1894, and joined the Treasury's legal staff. In 1904, he had his first experience managing colonial finances when he was seconded to the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

in Africa to establish the colony's taxation procedures, subsequently serving the government of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

.John Reynolds
Clark, Sir Ernest (1864–1951)
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 8, Melbourne University Press, 1981, pp 6–7. When the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out, Clark worked as a Treasury liaison officer with the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

and the

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...

. After the war, he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

, and joined the

Board of Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, ...

as assistant secretary and deputy inspector of taxes. He was knighted in the 1920 Birthday Honours.

Creation of Northern Ireland Civil Service

From 1920, Clark was appointed to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

as assistant under-secretary – the equal in the six counties to

Sir John Anderson John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, (8 July 1882 – 4 January 1958) was a Scottish civil servant and politician who is best known for his service in the War Cabinet during the Second World War, for which he was nicknamed the "Home Front Pr ...

, the head of the

Dublin Castle administration Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

– and was instrumental in resolving amicable relations between

and the newly formed

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

. He was described by Sir

Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, (9 June 1888 – 18 August 1973), styled Sir Basil Brooke, 5th Baronet between 1907 and 1952, was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician and paramilitary leader who became the third Prime M ...

as 'the midwife' of Northern Ireland. His friendship with

James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn James Albert Edward Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn (30 November 1869 – 12 September 1953), styled Marquess of Hamilton between 1885 and 1913, was a British peer and Unionist politician. He was the first Governor of Northern Ireland, a post h ...

, the

Governor of Northern Ireland The governor of Northern Ireland was the principal officer and representative in Northern Ireland of the British monarch. The office was established on 9 December 1922 and abolished on 18 July 1973. Overview The office of Governor of Northern I ...

, also eased relations between the new Irish government and

Downing Street Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk ...

. Clark was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in 1924.

Governor of Tasmania

Clark visited Australia in 1928, as a member of a British government economic delegation tasked with examining the state of the Australian economy. His report on Australian economics greatly impressed the

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of Ta ...

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...

, and it was believed that Lyons (by then

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

) may have suggested Clark for the post of

in 1933. The post had been vacant since 1930 due to lack of funds, and Clark's appointment, with his background in finance and contacts in London business may aid both Tasmania and Australia. Clark's term as governor was extended three times due to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was popular in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, especially because of his visits to all parts of the state, encouraging morale during the war. He was given the rare honour of a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

at the end of hostilities. Clark was a freemason. During his term as governor, he was also Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Tasmania. Clark returned to England in 1945, where he married his second wife Harriet McLennan in 1947. He died on 26 August 1951 at his home in

Seaton, Devon Seaton () is a seaside town, fishing harbour and civil parish in East Devon on the south coast of England, between Axmouth (to the east) and Beer, Devon, Beer (to the west). It faces onto Lyme Bay and is on the Dorset and East Devon Coast Juras ...

, and his remains were shipped to Tasmania for interment at

Cornelian Bay Cemetery Cornelian Bay Cemetery is a cemetery in Cornelian Bay, Tasmania, Australia. It is the oldest cemetery in Tasmania that remains in use. History The cemetery location, a section of the former Government Farm site, was selected in the late 1860s, ...

References

External links

*Private papers at th
Morris Miller Library
*A brief bio at th

*Role in establishing the

Government of Northern Ireland The government of Northern Ireland is, generally speaking, whatever political body exercises political authority over Northern Ireland. A number of separate systems of government exist or have existed in Northern Ireland. Following the partitio ...

described here
BBC website page on Sir Ernest Clark in Northern Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Ernest 1864 births 1951 deaths Governors of Tasmania Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of King's College London Civil servants in HM Treasury Members of the Middle Temple People from Plumstead People from Seaton, Devon Australian Freemasons Heads of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Burials in Tasmania