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Was born in the parish of
Towie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on 20 October 1846 (Dict.Nat.Biog.).
He was the eldest son of John Macgregor, a farm labourer. Educated at the
school at Tillyduke, and encouraged by his master and the local minister
who recognized the boy's ability, he studied for and obtained a bursary
which took him to Aberdeen and Glasgow universities. He graduated M.B. and
C.M. of Aberdeen university in 1872, and obtained his M.D. in 1874. He
helped to pay for his university course by obtaining farm work during his
vacations. In 1873 he became assistant medical officer at the Seychelles,
and in 1874 he was appointed resident at the hospital and superintendent
of the lunatic asylum at Mauritius. This brought him under the notice of
Sir Arthur Gordon who was then governor of the island, and on Gordon being
transferred to Fiji in 1875, he obtained Macgregor's services as chief
medical officer of Fiji. There he had to grapple with a terrible epidemic
of measles, which resulted in the death of 50,000 natives. In 1877 he was
made receiver-general and subsequently a variety of other offices was
added, including the colonial secretaryship. On more than one occasion he
acted as governor, and was also acting high commissioner and
consul-general for the western Pacific. In 1884 the ship Syria,
with coolies for Fiji, ran ashore about 15 miles from Suva. Macgregor
organized a relief expedition and personally saved several lives. His
report made no mention of his own doings, but they could not remain
hidden, and he was given the Albert medal, and the Clarke gold medal of
the Royal Humane Society of Australasia for saving life at sea. In January
1886 he represented Fiji at the meeting of the federal council of
Australasia held at Hobart. His experience with native races led to his
being appointed administrator of British New Guinea in 1888. Here he had
to deal with a warlike people cut up into many tribes, and his great
problem was to get them to live together in reasonable amity. It was
necessary at times to make punitive expeditions, but bloodshed was avoided
as much as possible, and by tact and perseverance Macgregor eventually
brought about a state of law and order. He did a large amount of
exploration not only along the coast but into the interior. In 1892 the
position was sufficiently settled to enable him to publish a Handbook
of Information for intending Settlers in British New Guinea. He was
appointed lieutenant-governor in 1895, and retired from this position in
1898. From 1899 to 1904 he was governer of Lagos where he instituted a
campaign against the prevalent malaria, draining the swamps and destroying
as far as possible the mosquitoes which were responsible for the spread of
the disease. Much other important work in developing the country was done
by making roads and building a railway. His efforts to improve the health
of his community led to his being given the Mary Kingsley medal in 1910 by
the Society of Tropical Medicine. He had been transferred in 1904 to
Newfoundland of which he was governor for five years. Here again his
medical knowledge was most useful in the combating of tuberculosis which
was then very prevalent in Newfoundland. He also did valuable work in
dealing with the fisheries question, persuading the contending parties to
refer the dispute to the Hague international tribunal which brought about
an amicable settlement. Towards the end of 1909 he became governor of
Queensland. The claim that he was largely responsible for the founding of
the university of Queensland cannot be justified, as the university act
had been passed by the Kidston (q.v.) government before he arrived. He,
however, did all that was possible to help in the actual inauguration of
the university. He acquiesced in the handing over of government house to
be its first home, and one of his first acts was to attend the dedication
ceremony on 10 December 1909. He also became the first chancellor and took
great pride in the early development of the university. In 1914 he retired
and went to live on an estate in Berwickshire, Scotland. During the
1914-18 war he was able to do a certain amount of war work, and also
lectured on his experience of German rule in the Pacific. He died on 3
July 1919 and was buried beside his parents in the churchyard of Towie,
the village where he was born. He married in 1883 Mary, daughter of R.
Cocks, who survived him with one son and three daughters. He was created
C.M.G. in 1881, K.C.M.G. in 1889, C.B. in 1897, G.C.M.G. in 1907, and was
made a privy councillor in 1914. He had the honorary degrees of D.Sc.
Cambridge and LL.D. Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Queensland.
Macgregor was a man of
immense physical strength, it has been said of him in his early days that
he was like a "great block of rough unhewn granite". He began life with no
advantages except his innate ability, and rose to be one of the really
great men of his time. He was a fine linguist; apart from his home
universities he had studied at Paris, Berlin and Florence, and he was an
excellent scientist, as his medical work done at Fiji, Lagos and
Newfoundland showed. He was a great administrator--always working for the
good of the subject races and helping them to develop, and yet able on
more than one occasion to save his own life by his excellence as a rifle
shot. Contact with a world of men gradually softened a certain roughness
of manner, until he became the courteous man of his later years. But he
was always a great personality, a great fighter, striving continually for
the cause of right and justice, and using his scientific knowledge for the
good of humanity.
Read more about him on the Internet Archive
Report by the Governor
on a Visit to the Micmac Indians at Bay d'Espoir
By William MacGregor
Report on
the trade and commerce of Newfoundland, for the four years ending with
the 30th June, 1906
Also, report of an official visit to the coast of Labrador, during the
month of August, 1905, by His Excellency Sir William MacGregor, governor
of the colony of Newfoundland (1908) (pdf)
The
Problem of the Pacific
By Brunsdon Fletcher, Preface by the Right Hon. Sir William MacGregor
(pdf)
Address
delivered at the meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society
By His Excellency Sir William MacGregor, St. John's, Newfoundland, 26th
March 1908 (pdf) |
