George Cartland


Sir George Barrington Cartland, CMG served as the only deputy-governor of Uganda from 1961-62. After retiring, he later became the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Tasmania.

Early Life

George Barrington Cartland was born on 22 September 1912 to William Arthur and Margaret Cartland. His education took him to Manchester High School and Manchester University, where he studied for an honours degree in history.

Colonial Service

After university he joined the Colonial Service and was sent to train at Hertford College, Oxford.

Gold Coast

In 1935 Cartland was sent to his first posting on the Gold Coast, now called Ghana. Serving as a cadet administrative officer he worked in the central secretariat until 1944. From there he was seconded back to London and home service at the Colonial Office.

African Studies Branch

At the Colonial Office Cartland served in the African Studies Branch. In 1948 he was secretary of the London African Conference. Governors and other political leaders from Africa convened to discuss colonial policy and future independence as members of the Commonwealth.

Uganda

In 1949 he was sent to Uganda to be an administrative secretary and stayed for the rest of his career. He became Secretary for Social Services and Local Government as well as a member of the Executive Council in 1952. In 1955 he was appointed Minister for Social Services, in 1958 he became Minister of Education and Labour and Chief Secretary to the Government in 1960. In this capacity he made contributions towards the creation of the University of East Africa. Further to this he took interest in the growth of the University College of Makerere.

Self Government Period

With the introduction of internal self-government in 1961 he became Uganda's first and last Deputy-Governor. In this capacity he was credited with helping to lay the groundwork for Ugandan Independence.

Retirement

Higher Education

In retirement Cartland became Registrar of Birmingham University. His work in this area also took on the executive committee of the Inter-University Council for Higher Education Overseas between 1963 and 1967. Furthermore, he was a member of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission between 1964 and 1967.

Tasmania

In 1968 he moved to Tasmania to take up an appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Tasmania. He worked in this position for the next decade and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws in recognition of his service. He also acted as deputy chair of the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee between 1975 and 1977.

Tasmanian Government

The Tasmanian Government appointed him chair of the South-West National Park Advisory Committee, reviewed archives and library legislation and Tasmanian governmental administration. In 1983 he served on the committee which examined the size of the Tasmanian Parliament. His last role was as chair of the Tasmanian Council of Trade Unions Training Authority.

Personal Life

He was married to Dorothy Rayton with whom he had two children. One of the children predeceased him.
Cartland enjoyed fly fishing, sailing and mountaineering. His memberships took in the Athenaeum Club in London as well as the Royal Commonwealth Society. Further to this he joined the Tasmanian Club and the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.
Sir George Cartland died on 31 July 2008 at the age of 95.