William Des Vœux

Sir George William Des Vœux GCMG (22 September 1834 – 15 December 1909) was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of Fiji (1880–1885), Newfoundland (1886–1887), and Hong Kong (1887–1891).[1]


William Des Vœux

GCMG
3rd Administrator of Saint Lucia
In office
January 1869  December 1878
MonarchVictoria
Preceded byJames Mayer Grant
Succeeded bySir Arthur Havelock
2nd High Commissioner for the Western Pacific
In office
January 1880  December 1886
MonarchVictoria
Preceded bySir Arthur Hamilton Gordon
Succeeded bySir Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell
3rd Governor of Fiji
In office
January 1880  December 1886
MonarchVictoria
Preceded bySir Arthur Hamilton Gordon
Succeeded bySir Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell
54th Governor of Newfoundland
In office
1886–1887
MonarchVictoria
Prime MinisterSir Robert Thorburn
Preceded bySir John Hawley Glover
Succeeded bySir Henry Arthur Blake
10th Governor of Hong Kong
In office
6 October 1887  10 December 1891
MonarchVictoria
LieutenantSir William Cameron
Sir James Edwards
Sir George Barker
Colonial SecretaryFrederick Stewart
Francis Fleming
Preceded bySir George Bowen
Succeeded bySir William Robinson
Personal details
Born
George William Des Vœux

(1834-09-22)22 September 1834
Baden-Baden, German Confederation
Died15 December 1909(1909-12-15) (aged 75)
Brighton, England
Spouse(s)
Marion Pender
(m. 1875)
Children7
Alma materBalliol College, Oxford
University of Toronto (BA)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese德輔
Simplified Chinese德辅

Early life

Des Vœux was born as the eighth of nine children of Reverend Henry Des Vœux (1786–1857) and his second wife Fanny Elizabeth Hutton in Baden-Baden, Germany, on 22 September 1834. His grandfather was Sir Charles des Voeux, 1st Baronet.[2] His great-grandfather was a Huguenot from Normandy, France, who settled in Ireland in the early 18th century.[3]

Des Vœux attended a public school in London before starting his studies at Charterhouse School (1845–1853) and Balliol College, Oxford (1854–1856), but left without a degree after his father gave him the choice of finishing his degree and become a clergyman or seeking his fortune in the colonies.[4] Des Vœux then moved to Canada, where he finished his BA at the University of Toronto and became a barrister in Upper Canada in 1861.

Colonial services

Des Vœux (far right) in Guiana

Des Vœux became stipendiary magistrate and superintendent of rivers and creeks[5] in British Guiana from 1863 to 1869, where he championed native causes. He reorganised and codified old French system of law when he was the Administrator and Colonial Secretary of St. Lucia between 1869 and 1880. Afterwards, Des Vœux was appointed Governor of Fiji and High Commissioner for the Western Pacific from 1880 to 1885. He was appointed Governor of Newfoundland from 1886 to 1887.[6]

Based on his experience in Guiana where he witnessed many instances of cruel and unjust treatment of indentured servants by plantation owners and managers, des Vœux wrote a 10,000-word report in 1869 to Lord Granville, the Secretary of State for the Colonies in which he detailed many abuses. When the contents of the report were published, there was a great outcry and the Commission of Inquiry into the Treatment of Immigrants was conducted. Des Vœux gave testimony before the commission in Georgetown and its report led to many improvements in the workers' treatment.[7]

Governor of Hong Kong

Des Vœux with his daughter on sedan chairs in Hong Kong

Des Vœux served as the tenth Governor of Hong Kong from 1887 to 1891. This was the last post he held in the Colonial Services. During his tenure the Peak Tram began operation in 1888, providing relatively affordable transportation for people living on The Peak. Des Vœux segregated the Peak together with effectively all the elevated areas of Hong Kong Island from crowded Chinese-style tenements by enacting the European District Reservation Ordinance in November of that year. A year before he left office, the newly established Hong Kong Electric Company began providing electricity to Hong Kong Island.

Post-governorship

After Des Vœux's time as Governor of Hong Kong ended, he entered retirement. He was created a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1893. In 1903, he published his memoirs called My colonial service in British Guiana, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Fiji, Australia, Newfoundland and Hong Kong, with interludes.

Personal life

On 24 July 1875, Des Vœux married Marion Denison Pender (1856–1955), daughter of submarine telegraphy pioneer John Pender. They had two daughters and five sons, three of whom died in infancy. Des Vœux died in Brighton, England, on 15 December 1909.[2]

Honours

  • Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, 1877
  • Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, 1883
  • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, 1893

Namesakes

References

  1. Mennell, Philip (1892). "Des Vœux, Sir George William" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co via Wikisource.
  2. im Thurn, E. F.; Milne, Lynn, rev. "Des Vœux, Sir (George) William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32795. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  3. Des Voeux, George William (1903). My Colonial Service in British Guiana, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Fiji, Australia, Newfoundland, and Hong Kong with Interludes. Volume 1. London: John Murray. p. 1.
  4. "Des Vœux, Sir George William". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  5. Shiona M Airlie, Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography, 2012, p. 123
  6. "Des Voeux, Sir George William (1834-1909)". Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Website. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  7. Thurn, Everard im (1912). "Des Vœux, William" . Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.

Sources

  • Stephanie Williams, Running the Show: The Extraordinary Stories of the Men who Governed the British Empire, Viking 2011, ISBN 978-0670918041.
  • Des Voeux, George William (1903). My Colonial Service in British Guiana, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Fiji, Australia, Newfoundland, and Hong Kong with Interludes. Vol. 1 / Vol. 2. London: John Murray.
Government offices
Preceded by
James Mayer Grant
Administrator of Saint Lucia
1869–1878
Succeeded by
Arthur Elibank Havelock
Preceded by
Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon
Governor of Fiji
1880–1885
Succeeded by
Sir Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell
High Commissioner for the Western Pacific
1880–1885
Preceded by
Sir John Hawley Glover
Governor of Newfoundland
1886–1887
Succeeded by
Sir Henry Arthur Blake
Preceded by
Major-General William Cameron
as Acting Administrator
Governor of Hong Kong
1887–1891
Succeeded by
Major-General Digby Barker
as Acting Administrator
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