Sir Henry Arthur Blake (; 8January 184023February 1918) was a British colonial administrator and

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kon ...

from 1898 to 1903.

Early life, family and career

Blake was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

, Ireland. He was the son of Peter Blake of Corbally Castle (c. 1805 – bur. St. Ann's,

Dublin 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 ...

, 19 November 1850), a

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

-born county

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

of the Irish Constabulary, and wife (m. Mobarnan,

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after ...

) Jane Lane ( Lanespark, County Tipperary, 5 March 1819 – ?), daughter of John Lane of Lanespark, County Tipperary, and paternal grandson of Peter Blake of Corbally Castle,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

(? – 1842, bur. Peter’s Well, County Galway) and wife (m. 14 May 1800) Mary Browne, daughter of The Hon. John Browne and wife Mary Cocks and paternal granddaughter of John Browne, 1st Earl of Altamont, and wife Anne Gore. He was included among the descendants the Blakes of Corbally Castle, Kilmoylan,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, the descendants of Peter Blake (? – 1712), who was granted the lands of Corbally, Kilmoylan, County Galway, on 20 December 1697, and wife Magdeline Martin, ''the Blakes''. Peter Blake was a son of Sir Richard Blake and wife Gyles Kirwan. Blake started out as a clerk in the Bank of Ireland but lasted only 18 months before resigning and commencing a cadetship in the Irish Constabulary in 1857. He became a special inspector two years later. In 1876, he was appointed Resident Magistrate to

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

, an especially disturbed district in the west of Ireland, where he was noted as judicious and active. In 1882, he was promoted to Special Resident Magistrate.

Early colonial services

In 1884, Blake was made Governor of Bahamas, a position he held until 1887. He was appointed to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

in 1886 but resigned without entering the administration, following an imbroglio between Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Knutsford, and the premier of Queensland, Sir Thomas M'Ilwraith, on the appointment. In 1887, he moved to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, where he was governor until the end of 1888, being knighted on 7 November that year. In 1889 he became the Captain-General and

Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jama ...

. His term was extended in 1894 and 1896, at the request of Legislature and public bodies of the island, until 1897.

Governor of Hong Kong

On 25 November 1898, Blake was appointed

, a position he held until November 1903. Five months before he arrived in Hong Kong, the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

negotiated an agreement with the Qing government which leased the

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

to British Hong Kong for 99 years. During his tenure, Blake sent in colonial administrators to the New Territories to assert control over the local ''

punti ''Punti'' ( zh, t=本地, j=bun2 dei6, l=locals) is a Cantonese endonym referring to the native Cantonese people of Guangdong and Guangxi. ''Punti'' designates Weitou dialect-speaking locals in contrast to other Yue Chinese speakers and other ...

'' clans. The clans resisted the British takeover of the New Territories, resulting in the outbreak of the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 ...

; a largely

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

force under the command of

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officer

William Gascoigne Sir William Gascoigne (c. 135017 December 1419) was Chief Justice of England during the reign of King Henry IV. Life and work Gascoigne (alternatively spelled Gascoyne) was a descendant of an ancient Yorkshire family. He was born in Gawthor ...

managed to defeat the ''punti'' clans, with Blake adopting an amiable co-operation policy to prevent further trouble and allowed them to retain traditional laws and customs in regards to land inheritance, land usage and marriage. Blake left Hong Kong immediately after he attended the laying of the foundation stone of the Supreme Court building (

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kon ...

from 1985 to 2011) on 12 November 1903.

Post-Hong Kong

Blake was appointed

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of Portuguese ...

at the end of his tenure in Hong Kong in 1903, and he served in that capacity until 1907. This was his last post in the Colonial Service. A freshly retired Blake impressed George Morrison with his bitterness at not landing a Privy Council sinecure in gratitude for his 41 years' public service. The Blakes retired to Myrtle Grove in Youghal,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

, where they both died and were buried.Independent article by Patrick Cockburn
/ref>

Personal life

Winslow Homer's 'Children Under a Palm Tree'

Blake married twice: Jeannie Irwin in 1862 (she died in 1866), and Edith Bernal Osborne in Ireland, on 7 February 1874 (she was the daughter of MP

Ralph Bernal Osborne Ralph Bernal Osborne of Newtown Anner House, County Tipperary, MP (26 March 1808 – 4 January 1882), born and baptised with the name of Ralph Bernal, Jr., was a British Liberal politician. Life He was the eldest son of London Sephardic Spani ...

). He had two sons, and one daughter Olive, who married

John Bernard Arbuthnot Major John Bernard Arbuthnot, MVO (17 May 1875, in London – 16 September 1950) was a British soldier, banker, and journalist. Life Arbuthnot was the son of Colonel George Arbuthnot and wife Caroline Emma Nepean Aitchison. He was commissi ...

. During his period as Governor of The Bahamas, a watercolour of his three children, '' Children Under a Palm'', was painted by

Winslow Homer Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...

. The painting was subsequently featured on the BBC TV programme, ''

Fake or Fortune? ''Fake or Fortune?'' is a BBC One documentary television series which examines the provenance and attribution of notable artworks. Since the first series aired in 2011, ''Fake or Fortune?'' has drawn audiences of up to 5 million viewers in t ...

Honours and arms

* Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), 1887 * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG), 1888 * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG), 1897 * Knight of Justice of Order of St. John of Jerusalem * Fellow of

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(FRGS) * JP * DL * Fellow of Royal Colonial Institute (FRCI) * Fellow of

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and incor ...

( FIoD) * Honorary Colonel of Ceylon Mounted Rifles * District Grand Master Ceylon Freemasons * Member, Council Royal Dublin Society * Honorary Member, Royal Zoological Society, London

Legacy

The community of

Blaketown Blaketown is a suburb to the west of Greymouth on the West Coast of New Zealand. The Grey River separates Blaketown from Cobden, and the Blaketown Lagoon separates it from the centre of Greymouth. The town is named after Isaac Blake, an early s ...

in Canada was named in his honour when he was the governor of Newfoundland. Blake Garden, Blake Pier (卜公碼頭) and Blake Block (now within the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Headquarters) are named after him. The '' Bauhinia blakeana'', discovered in Hong Kong around 1880, was named after him (Blake shared his wife's interest in botany). It became an emblem of Hong Kong in 1965 and has been the official emblem from 1 July 1997. It appears on the

flag of Hong Kong The flag of Hong Kong, officially the regional flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, depicts a white stylised five-petal Hong Kong orchid tree (''Bauhinia blakeana'') flower in the centre of a ...

and its

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...

. The John Crow Mountains in Jamaica were renamed the Blake Mountains in 1890 but the name did not stick.

Publications

* McGrath, Terence, pseud. .e. Sir Henry Arthur Blake.1880, ''Pictures from Ireland''. Kegan Paul & Co.: London, 1880
Available from archive.org
*

References

Sources

* ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'', pp. 583–84, Cambridge, 2010.
Biography at Government House ''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador''

External links

* * * https://web.archive.org/web/20121103011435/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/celeb/wilde.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Henry Arthur Governors of British Ceylon Governors of Hong Kong Governors of Jamaica Governors of Newfoundland Colony British governors of the Bahamas 1840 births 1918 deaths Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Deputy Lieutenants in Ireland People from County Limerick 19th-century Hong Kong people 20th-century Hong Kong people 19th-century British politicians 20th-century British politicians Hong Kong people of Irish descent