Sir Fowell Buxton, 3rd Baronet
Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 3rd Baronet, , commonly known as Sir Fowell Buxton, was the Governor of South Australia from 29 October 1895 until 29 March 1899. He was the grandson of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, a British MP and social reformer, and the son of Sir Edward North Buxton, also an MP.
He attended Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He married Lady Victoria Noel on 12 June 1862 and they had a total of 13 children, ten surviving infancy. She was crippled by a spinal condition in 1869.
He was elected as Liberal Member of Parliament for King's Lynn at the 1865 general election, but was defeated at the 1868 election. After his defeat, he stood again for Parliament unsuccessfully on several other occasions: in Westminster at the 1874 general election, in Western Essex at the 1880 general election and at the by-elections in Northern Norfolk in 1876 and 1879. He was appointed High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1876.
When Buxton was appointed governor, the Premier of South Australia, Charles Kingston was angry that the South Australian government had not been involved in the decision about who should be the new governor, so made life as hard as possible for Buxton and his family. The governor's allowance was reduced and customs duty was charged on their household items. Buxton took up the job anyway, and later was described as the most genial, sociable and common-sense governor, due to his gentle and unassuming friendliness. He visited gaols and hospitals, and showed genuine interest in Aboriginal culture during his time as governor. He eventually returned to England due to the ill health of his wife.
Their second son, Noel Buxton acted as aide-de-camp to his father as governor, and later was a human rights campaigner and British Member of Parliament.
A memorial to Sir Thomas and his wife Victoria was erected in St Thomas' Church in Upshire in Essex in 1917, designed by Sir Robert Lorimer.
