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Alfred Turnbull

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Sir Alfred Turnbull
Administrator of Western Samoa and Tokelau
In office
1935–1946
Preceded byHerbert Ernest Hart
Succeeded byFrancis William Voelcker
Personal details
Born
Alfred Clarke Turnbull

(1881-10-14)14 October 1881
Balclutha, New Zealand
Died17 September 1962(1962-09-17) (aged 80)
Stamford, Connecticut, United States
OccupationPublic servant

Sir Alfred Clarke Turnbull KBE (14 October 1881 – 17 September 1962) was a New Zealand colonial administrator who served as Administrator of Western Samoa and Tokelau between 1935 and 1946.

Biography

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Turnbull was born in Balclutha in 1881.[1] He joined the civil service in 1899, initially working in the Lands & Survey Department, before becoming Chief Accountant in 1912 and an inspector in 1915.[1] He served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force between 1916 and 1919.[2] When he returned from the war, he was appointed secretary to the Public Service Commissioner.[1] In 1921 he married Grace Moncrieff.[3]

He was posted to Western Samoa in 1930, initially as Government Secretary.[4] In 1935 he was appointed Acting Administrator, succeeding Herbert Ernest Hart. Turnbull was a popular figure in Samoa, and a petition was sent to the New Zealand government requesting his appointment.[5] However, his position was not made permanent until 1943.[2] He remained in office until 1946, when he retired and was replaced by Francis William Voelcker.[6] He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1946 New Year Honours.[4]

Following his retirement, Turnbull relocated to the United States where his daughter lived. He died in Stamford Hospital, Connecticut, in 1962.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Turnbull, Alfred Clarke (Sir), 1881–1962 New Zealand National Library
  2. ^ a b "From Samoa to Somes and back: The Internment of Father Albert Merten sm and Brother Joseph (Julius) Krieger sm during World War II Marists
  3. ^ Who's Who in New Zealand 1941, p336
  4. ^ a b c Sir Alfred Clarke Turnbull Pacific Islands Monthly, December 1962, p141
  5. ^ Administratorship of Samoa: Petition for Appointment of Mr. A.C. Turnbull Pacific Islands Monthly, September 1935, p37
  6. ^ David P. Henige (1970) Colonial Governors from the Fifteenth Century to the Present, University of Wisconsin Press, p188