John Gardiner Austin, CMG ( zh, 柯士甸; 7 August 1812 – 25 July 1900) was a British colonial administrator. He was Lieutenant-Governor of British Honduras 1864–1867, and Colonial Secretary of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

from 1868 to 1879, acting as Administrator (acting Governor) of the colony in 1877.

Background and early life

Career

Austin was appointed

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

in February 1864, and served for two years until 1867. In 1868, he was appointed Colonial Secretary of

, serving as such until 1879. He was also

Auditor General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Freq ...

of the colony from 1870 to 1879, and Administrator (acting Governor) from March to April 1877. He was appointed a

Companion 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, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in March 1876, for his services in Hong Kong.

Family

Austin married, in 1836, Emma Wilday (1 February 1811 – 9 May 1879), and was the father of six sons and four daughters, including: * Charles Wilday Austin (19 January 1837 – 1 December 1862) * John Gardiner Austin (19 July 1838 – 8 March 1902), who in September 1901 was appointed a Member of the

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

Legislative council. Sir Harold Austin was his son. * Mehetabel Percy Austin (29 February 1840 – 27 December 1943), who married in 1862 Axel Dickson (1826–1899), a member of the

Swedish parliament The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and s ...

of Scottish origin. She was one of few people born on

leap day February 29, also known as leap day or leap year day, is a date added to leap years. A leap day is added in various solar calendars (calendars based on the Earth's revolution around the Sun), including the Gregorian calendar standard in mo ...

to celebrate a centennial.

Legacy

Mount Austin on

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

Austin Road Austin Road is a road in-between Tsim Sha Tsui and Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was named after John Gardiner Austin, Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1868 to 1879. The northeast part of this street is noted for clubs, fields, and mi ...

and Austin Avenue in

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

were named after him. The Austin station of the MTR was so-named due to its proximity to Austin Road West, and the naming may be more influenced by geographical convenience rather than any direct link to Austin himself.

References

Austin, John Cardiner 1812 births 1900 deaths Governors of British Honduras {{HongKong-gov-bio-stub