Sir Alfred Clarke Turnbull (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 Turnbull was born in Balclutha in 1881.Turnbull, Alfred Clarke (Sir), 1881–1962 New Zealand National Library 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. He served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force between 1916 and 1919."From Samoa to Somes and back: The Internment of Father Albert Merten sm and Brother Joseph (Julius) Krieger sm during World War II Marists When he returned from the war, he was appointed secretary to the Public Service Commissioner. In 1921 he married Grace Moncrieff.Who's Who in New Zealand 1941, p336
He was posted to Western Samoa in 1930, initially as Government Secretary.Sir Alfred Clarke Turnbull Pacific Islands Monthly, December 1962, p141 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.Administratorship of Samoa: Petition for Appointment of Mr. A.C. Turnbull Pacific Islands Monthly, September 1935, p37 However, his position was not made permanent until 1943. He remained in office until 1946, when he retired and was replaced by Francis William Voelcker.David P. Henige (1970) Colonial Governors from the Fifteenth Century to the Present, University of Wisconsin Press, p188 He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1946 New Year Honours.
Following his retirement, Turnbull relocated to the United States where his daughter lived. He died in Stamford Hospital, Connecticut, in 1962.
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