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
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]
