Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan GCMG PC (Ire) (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and colonial administrator, who variously served as the governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Queensland.

In 1902, Nathan imported into the Gold Coast a £543 French Gardner-Serpollet, paraffin-fired, steam-driven car for his use on the roads around Accra.

Nathan was appointed Under-Secretary for Ireland in late 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I and the signing into law of the Home Rule Act 1914.

The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was then largely a ceremonial position, and the Chief Secretary spent much of his time in London, where he was a member of the cabinet.

He was also concerned with recruiting in Ireland, and received regular reports from the police and military about anti-recruiting and pro-independence activity, including the threat of a German invasion or arms landing in support of an Irish rising.

[10] He used the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 to suppress newspapers that he considered seditious, against the advice of the IPP[11] In general, however, he avoided any action that might provoke violence.

On 21 April 1916, Nathan was informed that a German boat had been stopped off the coast of County Kerry carrying arms and ammunition and that a man had been arrested after coming ashore from another vessel.

The man arrested was subsequently identified as Sir Roger Casement[12] A mobilization of the Irish Volunteers fixed for Easter Sunday was cancelled the day before.

[14] The Castle gates were closed, and the rebels did not press the attack, but Nathan was a virtual prisoner until troops arrived from the Curragh Camp on Monday evening.

[15] Nathan remained in the Castle for the rest of the week (being moved to the stables to accommodate the military), where he kept in contact with London, keeping the government up to date with the situation and helping to answer questions in Parliament.

After his appointment as governor expired, Nathan left Queensland for retirement in Somerset, England, where he died in the village of West Coker in 1939.