William Charles Arcedeckne Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield, (3 January 1883 – 20 November 1969) was a British Conservative Party politician,

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of Monarchy of Australia, the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the premier of V ...

, and Administrator of Australia. He was the first Australian-born governor of an Australian state.

Early life

Born in

Gatton, Queensland Gatton is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Lockyer Valley Region, situated in the Lockyer Valley, Queensland, Lockyer Valle ...

, Vanneck was the son of Hon. William Arcedeckne Vanneck and Mary Armstrong, sister of William Drayton Armstrong (a Member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

and its Speaker for many years). Vanneck grew up near Gatton (now the modern locality of Adare) until he was 14 years old when he went to England. He was educated at

Wellington College, Berkshire Wellington College is a co-educational public school providing education for boarding and day pupils in the village of Crowthorne, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,100 pu ...

, whereafter he joined the 13th/18th Hussars, reaching the rank of captain. He succeeded his uncle in 1915 as the 5th Baron Huntingfield of

Heveningham Hall Heveningham Hall is a Grade I listed building in Heveningham, Suffolk, England. The first house on the site was built for the politician and regicide William Heveningham in 1658. The present house, dating from 1778 to 1780, was designed by ...

and 7th Baronet Vanneck of Putney. Vanneck married on 21 December 1912 American-born Margaret Eleanor Crosby, the daughter of Ernest Howard Crosby, a descendant of

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

signer

William Floyd William Floyd (December 17, 1734 – August 4, 1821) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, wealthy farmer, and political leader from New York (state), New York. Floyd served as a delegate to the Continental Cong ...

, and Fanny Kendall Schieffelin. From her paternal grandmother Margaret Evertson Givan, Crosby was descendant from Dutch, French Canadian and Scandinavian ancestors who settled in North America. They had four children: *Hon. Sara Carola Vanneck (25 September 1913 – 2001), married Major David Arthur Peel in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia on 14 April 1936. He was a grandson of

Arthur Peel, 1st Viscount Peel Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel, (3 August 182924 October 1912), was a British Liberal politician, who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1895. He was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1884 until 1895, when he was raised to ...

and died in action in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in September 1944. *Gerald Vanneck, 6th Baron Huntingfield (1915–1994) *Hon. Anne Margaret Theodosia Vanneck (20 May 1918 – 2000), married

Peter Moro Peter Meinhard Moro (27 May 1911 – 10 October 1998) was a London-based architect whose practice developed many notable public buildings. He was the son of Austrian physician and paediatrician Ernst Moro. Life and works Moro was born in Heid ...

, the architect, on 2 March 1940 and had issue; divorced in 1984. *Hon. Sir Peter Vanneck (1922–1999)

Political career

Between 1923 and 1929 Vanneck was member for

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. He was successively Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

1926–27, and then to the President of the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

between 1927 and 1928.

Governorships

In 1934 Huntingfield became the

, Australia, being the first Australian-born governor of an Australian state (although he was always considered British). (Despite this, Victoria was the last of the states to appoint an Australian as governor, Sir Henry Winneke in 1974.) His term expired in 1939. He served as Administrator of Australia between March and September 1938. Although Vanneck was offered the post of

Governor of Southern Rhodesia The governor of Southern Rhodesia was the representative of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch in the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia from 1923 to 1980. The governor was appointed by the Crown and acted as the local ...

in 1942, he did not take up the position due to ill health.

Freemasonry

Vanneck was a freemason. He was initiated to the craft in 1919, in the United Lodge No. 1629. He became a member of the United Service Lodge No. 330 in Victoria as a Past Master in 1934. Shortly after that, in 1935, he became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Victoria. After his return to England, in 1940, he was appointed Senior Grand Warden of the United Grand Lodge of England.

Honours and later life

Vanneck was invested as a

Knight Commander 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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in 1934. He was Colonel of the 58th Battalion, Company of London Home Guard during the Second World War. He was given the rank of Honorary Air Commodore in No. 21 (City of Melbourne) Squadron,

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

. Finally, he was invested as a Knight of Grace Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

Arms

References

External links

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

20th-century British Army personnel Deputy lieutenants of Suffolk