Frederick Robert Moor on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Sir Frederick Robert Moor, (12 May 1853 – 18 March 1927) was a South African politician who served as the last Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal between 1906 and 1910.
Sir Frederick Robert Moor, (12 May 1853 – 18 March 1927) was a South African politician who served as the last Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal between 1906 and 1910.
Biography
Moor was born inPietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...
, the son of a farmer and Byrne Settler
The term Byrne Settler refers to any emigrant brought to Natal by the company, J. C. Byrne & Co.
These people landed in Natal on 20 ships during the years 1849 to 1851. Allotments were laid out in the Byrne valley '
Byrne (also O'Byrne) is an I ...
. He was educated at the Hermannsburg School. Aged nineteen, Moor went to the newly-discovered diamond fields at Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
* Kimberley (Western Australia)
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley
* Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania
* Kimberley, Tasmania a small town
* County of Kimberley, a ...
, where he met his wife and remained for seven years. In 1879, he sold his claims and returned to Natal to farm. In 1886, he was elected to the Natal Legislative Council for Weenen County, and agitated for responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...
. He served as Minister of Native Affairs between 1893–97 and 1899–1903. As minister, he strongly favoured upholding customary law and the power of native chiefs.
In November 1906, he succeeded Charles John Smythe Charles John Smythe (21 April 1852 – May 1918) was prime minister of the Colony of Natal from 1905 to 1906.
He was the grandfather of Victoria Cross winner Quentin Smythe
Quentin George Murray Smythe (6 August 1916 – 22 October 1997) was ...
as prime minister. He strongly supported the unification of South Africa. When 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 ...
was established in 1910 the position of prime minister of Natal lapsed, and Moor became Minister of Commerce and Industries in Louis Botha
Louis Botha (; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first prime minister of the Union of South Africa – the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war hero during the Second Boer War, ...
's cabinet, but was quickly defeated in the 1910 election. He was then nominated to the Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, and served until 1920. That year he retired to his farm near Estcourt.
Moor was sworn of the Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
in 1907 when he attended that year's Imperial Conference, and appointed KCMG in 1911.
References