Sir Maurice Charles Philip O'Connell KCH (1768 – 25 May 1848) was a commander of forces and

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-com ...

of colonial

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Early life

Maurice Charles O'Connell was born in Ireland in 1768. He had had a distinguished career in the army. His family the Tarmon branch of the O’Connell clan of Kerry, Munster were cousins to the Derrynane O’Connell family, such as Daniel O’Connell MP.

New South Wales

In 1809, he came with the newly appointed Governor of New South Wales Macquarie to Sydney in charge of the 73rd Regiment of Foot. There, in May 1810, O'Connell hastily married widow

Mary Putland Mary Bligh, Lady O'Connell (later Putland and later O'Connell) (1783–1864) was the Lady of Government House, New South Wales, Australia during the period her father William Bligh was the Governor of New South Wales. Early life Mary Bligh was ...

, the daughter of the deposed former governor

William Bligh Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...

, shortly before Bligh's return to England. O'Connell also had a commission as

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-com ...

, and so acted when Macquarie was absent in

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

in the latter part of 1812. O'Connell was then on good terms with Macquarie, who, in November of that year, strongly recommended that his salary should be considerably increased. Although William Bligh had departed, his daughter, now Mary O'Connell, had not forgiven those who had deposed her father, creating tensions between her husband and others in the colony. O'Connell became involved in the quarrel and in August 1813 Macquarie in a dispatch to Lord Bathurst stated that, ''"though lieutenant-colonel O'Connell is naturally a very well disposed man . . . it would greatly improve the harmony of the country . . . if the whole of the officers and men of the 73 regiment were removed from it"''. On 26 March 1814 O'Connell and his regiment were transferred to Ceylon. He attained the rank of major-general in 1830 and was knighted in 1835.

Return to New South Wales

In 1838, Maurice O'Connell returned to Sydney in command of the forces and was appointed a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. He was senior member of the executive council when, the question of the rights of Bligh's daughters to certain land granted to Bligh in 1806 having been again raised,

Governor Gipps Sir George Gipps (23 December 1790 – 28 February 1847) was the Governor of the British colony of New South Wales for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship oversaw a tumultuous period where the rights to land were bitterly conte ...

found himself in an extremely delicate position. The matter was settled by compromise in 1841. O'Connell was acting-governor of New South Wales from 12 July to 2 August 1846.

Later life

Maurice O'Connell died in Sydney on 25 May 1848, and received a full military funeral at St James' Church.

Legacy

O'Connell, New South Wales O’Connell is a village in New South Wales, Australia. The village, classified by the National Trust of Australia, is 23 kilometres from Oberon on the O'Connell Road. At the 2006 census, O'Connell and the surrounding area had a population of ...

was named after him by George Evans, when Evans followed the route of Blaxland, Lawson, and

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

in crossing the Blue Mountains ''Two Journals of Early Exploration in New South Wales''
by George William Evans. Entry for Wednesday, Decr. 6th, 1813. Retrieved 7 March 2014 as were streets in Sydney,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

. His son, Sir Maurice Charles O'Connell, was also a member of the Legislative Council (1845-1849) and then a member of the

Queensland Legislative Council The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which to ...

(1860-1879).

External links

OConnell, Maurice
at the

Dictionary of Sydney The Dictionary of Sydney is a digital humanities project to produce an online, expert-written encyclopedia of all aspects of the history of Sydney. Description The Dictionary is a partnership between the City of Sydney, the University of Sydney ...

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Connell, Maurice Charles 1768 births 1848 deaths Lieutenant-Governors of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

Irish emigrants to colonial Australia