Sir George Ferguson Bowen, G.C.M.G., succeeded Sir George Grey in the governorship of New Zealand in February, 1868. Born in Ireland in 1821, he received his primary education at the Charterhouse. From this he proceeded to Trinity College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1844. Leaving college a ripe scholar, he was appointed president of the University at Corfu in 1847, a position he continued to hold until 1851. From 1854 to 1859 he discharged the duties of Chief Secretary to the Government of the Ionian Islands. In the last-mentioned year he was promoted to the position of Governor-in-Chief of Queensland. Here he distinguished himself with conspicuous ability, and after a service of seven or eight years, was selected by the Imperial Government to succeed Sir George Grey as Governor of New Zealand. He arrived in Wellington in 1868, and entered upon the duties of his office. In 1873 he was appointed Governor of Victoria, where he succeeded Lord Canterbury. This position he held until 1878, in which year he became Governor of Mauritius. Notwithstanding the arduous political duties that necessarily devolved upon him, he always found time for literary pursuits, and is the author of several well-known books. Among these may be mentioned “A Handbook for Travellers in Greece,” and “Ithaca in 1850,” the latter of which went through three editions in a few years, and was translated into Greek in 1859. His devotion to the cause of Education is well known, and he has perpetuated his name in the Colony in this respect by establishing a prize fund in the New Zealand University. The “Bowen Prize” is awarded for the best essay on a subject connected with English history, or the history, institutions, and destiny of the British colonies, and is eagerly competed for by the undergraduates of the University.