Background
Du Cane was born in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, England in 1825, the son of Charles Du Cane of Braxted Park and Frances Prideaux-Brune.
Du Cane was born in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, England in 1825, the son of Charles Du Cane of Braxted Park and Frances Prideaux-Brune.
He was educated at the Charterhouse School in Surrey and Exeter College, Oxford.
From 1848 to 1855, Du Cane played first class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club as a batsman. He spent two years on Lord of the Admiralty as the civil Lord. At the 1857 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament for Northern Essex, and held the seat until the division was abolished at the 1868 general election.
Du Cane was appointed Governor of Tasmania, and was sworn in at Hobart Town on 15 January 1869.
He faced a minor constitutional crisis when the Premier of Tasmania, James Milne Wilson, threatened to resign after a taxation scheme he had proposed was defeated in parliament, which would have left Tasmania without a government, although Wilson withdrew his resignation and a general election took place. Du Cane"s tenure in Tasmania saw the colony grow strong and prosperous, partly due to industrial and resources booms and the improvement of communication between Tasmania, the mainland and England.
He left Hobart in November 1874, and was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of Street Michael and Saint George the next year after his return to England. Du Cane died at his family estate in Braxted Park, Essex on 25 February 1889, survived by five children, including the artist Ella Du Cane.
16th United Kingdom Parliament. 17th United Kingdom Parliament. 18th United Kingdom Parliament.
19th United Kingdom Parliament]
In 1852, he was elected to the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for Maldon in Essex, but his election was declared void after it was discovered that Du Cane"s agents had been involved in bribery although it was established that Du Cane was unaware of the corruption.