General Sir Ralph Darling, GCH (1775 - Brighton, 2 April 1858) was a British colonial Governor and the seventh Governor of New South Wales (from 19 December 1825 to 22 October 1831).
Darling entered the British Army as an ensign in 1793, and in August 1796 was appointed military secretary to Sir Ralph Abercromby.
Having commanded a regiment at the Battle of Corunna, Darling subsequently was promoted to brevet-colonel in 1810, major-general in 1813, and was on the horse guards staff in 1815.
From the beginning of 1819 to February 1824, Darling commanded the British troops on Mauritius, before serving as acting-governor of the island for the last three years of his stay, exhibiting administrative ability
It was largely on account of this service that Darling was appointed the seventh Governor of New South Wales in 1825.
Darling initiated the construction, from 1826, of the convict-built Great North Road, linking the Hawkesbury settlements around Sydney with those in the Hunter Valley