Adolph Brewster
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Adolph Brewster (1855 – October 1937) was a British colonial administrator in Fiji.


Biography

Brewster was born Adolph Brewster Joske in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
in 1854, the son of the businessman Paul Joske.About Islands People
'' Pacific Islands Monthly'', November 1937, p11
He was educated in England, before returning to Victoria and becoming involved in a company negotiating with Cakobau of Fiji to obtain land to grow cotton in Fiji.Men who knew yesterday
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', December 1937, p57
Brewster moved to Fiji in 1870 to take over a plot of land in
Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...
district. He created a sugar plantation, and built the first sugar mill in the islands. In 1884 Brewster joined the civil service. He reached the positions of Commissioner of Colo East and Colo North, as well as Deputy Commissioner of the Armed Native Constabulary. On 10 July 1902 he married Alice Caroline Stracey Tyler in St Stephen's Church in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
whilst on a visit to England. In 1908 he was appointed to the Legislative Council by the Governor. Brewster retired in 1910, after which he changed his name by deed poll, replacing his father's name with his mother's maiden name, Brewster. He retired to Bath, where he wrote two books, ''Hill Tribes of Fiji'' (1922) and ''King of the Cannibal Isles'' (1937). He died in London in October 1937. Alice lived until the age of 111; at the time of her death in 1982, she was the oldest person in the United Kingdom.Philip Snow (1998)
A Time of Renewal: Clusters of Characters, C.P. Snow and Coups
', The Radcliffe Press, p234


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewster, Adolph Fijian farmers British colonial governors and administrators in Oceania Fijian civil servants Colony of Fiji people Members of the Legislative Council of Fiji 1855 births 1937 deaths People from Melbourne