Sir William Robinson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 11th Governor of South Australia | |
| In office 19 February 1883 – 5 March 1889 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Premier | John Cox Bray (1883-84) John Colton (1884-85) Sir John Downer (1885-87) Thomas Playford II (1887-89) |
| Preceded by | Sir William Jervois |
| Succeeded by | The Rt Hon. Earl of Kintore |
| 11th Governor of the Straits Settlements | |
| In office August 1877 – 10 February 1879 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | Sir William Jervois |
| Succeeded by | Sir Frederick Weld |
| 9th Governor of Western Australia | |
| In office 11 January 1875 – 11 November 1877 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick Weld |
| Succeeded by | Harry Ord |
| In office 10 April 1880 – 1 June 1883 | |
| Preceded by | Harry Ord |
| Succeeded by | Frederick Broome |
| In office 20 October 1890 – 22 December 1895 | |
| Premier | Sir John Forrest |
| Preceded by | Frederick Broome |
| Succeeded by | Gerard Smith |
| Governor of the Leedward Islands | |
| In office 1874–1874 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Turner Irving |
| Succeeded by | George Berkeley |
| 19th Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island | |
| In office 6 October 1870 – November 1873 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Governors General | The Lord Lisgar The Earl of Dufferin |
| Premier | James Colledge Pope Robert Haythorne Lemuel Owen |
| Preceded by | Robert Hodgson |
| Succeeded by | Robert Hodgson |
| Governor of the Falkland Islands | |
| In office 23 May 1866 – 1870 | |
| Preceded by | James George Mackenzie |
| Succeeded by | George Abbas Kooli D'Arcy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 January 1834 County Westmeath, Ireland |
| Died | 2 May 1897 (aged 63) South Kensington, London |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse |
Olivia Edith Dean (m. 1862) |
| Children | three sons and two daughters |
| Parents |
|
| Residence(s) | South Kensington, London |
| Occupation | musical composer, colonial administrator |
| Profession | Politician |
Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson GCMG FRGS (14 January 1834 – 2 May 1897) was an Irish colonial administrator and musical composer, who wrote several well-known songs. He was born in County Westmeath, Ireland, and was educated at home and at the Royal Naval School. He joined the Colonial Office service in 1858 and became the president of Montserrat in 1862.
He married Olivia Edith Deane in 1862. He began serving as governor of the Falkland Islands in May 1866 and governed Prince Edward Island from 1870–1873, helping the island join a union with Canada. He became the governor of the Leeward Islands in 1874 and served his first term as the Western Australia governor from 1875–1877.
He was appointed governor of the Straits Settlements in 1877 and served as governor of Western Australia a second term from April 1880 to February 1883. Robinson became the governor of South Australia in 1883 until 1889. He was a temporary governor of Victoria, Australia in 1889, but was unable to be appointed permanently. He served his third term as governor of Western Australia from 1890–1895. He retired from his career in March 1895, at age 61. He then travelled to England and died on 2 May 1897, in South Kensington, London.