In February 1873 MacGregor 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 (24 km) from Suva. Doctor MacGregor organised a relief expedition and personally saved several lives; his report made no mention of his own deeds, 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.
Administrator and governor
MacGregor was described as 'sincere, discriminating, and courageous'.[2] A linguist, MacGregor spoke Italian, French, and German;[4] in one instance when with the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand (1863–1914) in the Territory of Papua, he translated from a German officer to the Italian cook on instructions to cook a wallaby.[4]
British New Guinea (1888–1898)
MacGregor's experience with native races led to his being appointed administrator of British New Guinea, from 4 September 1888 to 13 March 1895.[5] Here he had to deal with a warlike people separated in 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. Some of this in part related to the annual headhunting raid and cannibalisation of coastal tribes by the Tugeri warriors, which he ended.[4] He did a large amount of exploration not only along the coast but into the interior. Andrew Gibb Maitland was seconded as geologist in 1891. 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 awarded the 1896 Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society for his services to geography.[6]
Administrator MacGregor was appointed lieutenant-governor on 13 March 1895, and retired from this position on 10 September 1898.[5]
Lagos Colony (1899–1904)
From 1899 to 1904 he was governor of Lagos Colony, Nigeria, 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 Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
Sir William MacGregor in ceremonial mantle as Governor of Queensland
Newfoundland (1904–1909)
He had been transferred in 1904 to Newfoundland Colony 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.
During his term MacGregor saw a general election where two political parties were returned in equal number. The premier Sir Robert Bond sought a dissolution before the House had sat. MacGregor refused. At the House's first sitting, Bond made an unsuccessful motion to nominate a Speaker, then demanded a dissolution. Having suffered a defeat, Governor MacGregor suggested Bond should resign. Sir Edward Morris went to form a ministry, also suffered a majority defeat for chair. With a second general election, Morris was returned with a good majority. MacGregor's actions were approved by many authorities on the subject.[7]
MacGregor assisted in the inauguration of the University of Queensland, he agreed to the handing over of his residence Old Government House to be its first home, and one of his first acts as governor 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. MacGregor was also president of the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland.[1]
On Saturday, 28 June 1913, going to Townsville in northern Queensland, as a pioneer of tropical medicine himself, Governor MacGregor formally opened the new £2,757 two-storey building for the Institute of Tropical Medicine.[9][10][11] The building (now heritage-listed) at Clifton Street was close and to the west of the general hospital.[12] The Institute had been in existence for several years prior,[13][14] and the Governor had visited the facility several times prior.[15]
MacGregor retired in July 1914 from the governorship.[19]
Later life
He married in 1883 to Mary Jane, daughter of Levuka (Fiji) harbourmaster Captain Robert and Annie Cocks; who survived him with one son and three daughters. They met when he was the Administrator of British New Guinea.[20] She was reported to have been the first Caucasian female born in Fiji.[20] Two of the daughters were given to be born in Fiji.[21] Lady MacGregor had nearly lost her life to fever on her first visit to her husband when he was the Governor of the Lagos Colony.[4]
In 1914 MacGregor retired and went to live on the estate 'Chapel-on-Leader'[23] (near the River Leader, half-way between Lauder and Earlston, Berwickshire, Scotland). During World War I he was able to do a certain amount of war work, and also lectured on his experience of German rule in the Pacific.
MacGregor found his final year to be 'sorrowful', with the deaths of his son-in-law Admiral Sir Alfred Paget on 17 June 1918 of bronchitis, and Paget's wife and MacGregor's daughter Alpina 'Viti' Paget on 13 September 1918.[24] After an operation for intestinal adhesions and gallstones MacGregor died on 3 July 1919,[2] was cremated,[23] and interred beside his parents in the churchyard of Towie,[1] the village where he was born. Lady Mary MacGregor died in December 1919.[23]
^ ab"Death of Sir William MacGregor". Papuan Courier. Vol. 9, no. 30. International, Australia. 25 July 1919. p. 5. Retrieved 1 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Reminiscences". Cairns Post. Vol. XXXII, no. 34[?]5. Queensland, Australia. 26 August 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 1 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Tropical medicine". Darling Downs Gazette. Vol. LVI, no. 462. Queensland, Australia. 28 June 1913. p. 6. Retrieved 2 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Townsville Tropical Institute". Cairns Post. Vol. XXVI, no. 1412. Queensland, Australia. 12 September 1912. p. 3. Retrieved 2 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^Peter Biskup, "The Politics of Preserving the Past: The Early Years of the Historical Society of Queensland", (1988) Royal Historical Society of Queensland Journal, Vol. 13, No. 8, p 289.
^"Sir William Macgregor". The Week (Brisbane). Vol. LXXXVII, no. 2, 259. Queensland, Australia. 11 April 1919. p. 30. Retrieved 1 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Queensland place names search". Queensland Government (Department of Natural Resources and Mines). Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
Further reading
R. B. Joyce, Sir William MacGregor (Oxford University Press, 1971)
