"Small Holdings" The Earl Carrington Baron Charles Robert Carrington (Image plate from Vanity Fair)

Baron Charles Robert Carrington KG (1843–1928) was born in England and educated at Eton and Cambridge. He served as a captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms before being appointed governor of New South Wales in 1885. On his arrival the colony was suffering a drought, economic recession and political crisis. Carrington quickly formed a good relationship with Sir Henry Parkes and the pair often met to discuss the promotion of federation. The colony’s name was changed to Australia during Carrington’s administration, in 1887. In 1890 Carrington returned to England where his speeches in support of Australian nationalism shocked the local gentry. However, behind closed doors he was more critical of Australian politics, commenting that ‘its factions, its personal changes, its waste of time and opportunity … are but humble imitations of the proceedings of London statesmen’.