Sir Cornelius Alfred Moloney (1848 – 13 August 1913) was a British colonial administrator. He served as British Administrator of The Gambia from 1884 to 1886, Governor of Lagos Colony from 1886 to 1890, Governor of British Honduras from 1891 to 1897, Governor of the Federal Colony of the Windward Islands from 1897 to 1900, and Governor of Trinidad and Tobago from November 1900 to 1904. It was during his term as governor of Trinidad and Tobago that the

1903 Water Riots The Water Riots took place in Port of Spain on 23 March 1903 in Trinidad and Tobago, then a British colony. As a result of the riots, the Red House, which was the seat of the Executive and Legislative Council was destroyed. Around 1900, Trini ...

took place. The riot resulted in the destruction of the Red House, the seat of government. Moloney was made a Companion of the

Order of St. Michael and St. George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(C.M.G.) the

1882 Birthday Honours The 1882 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen, and wer ...

, later being promoted to Knight Commander (K.C.M.G.) in the

1890 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1890 were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. They were announced in ''The Times'' on 1 January 1890, and the various honours were gazetted in ''The London Gaz ...

. Moloney was concerned that the economic value of products of colonies in general, and of those administered by him in his diplomatic roles in particular, should be better propagated, and he believed that this would encourage the economy and provide instruction to the natives. To this end he established an exemplary botanical garden, in 1883, at Kokoinaiko (possibly Okokomaiko), Lagos colony, for the growth of plants of marketable value, including rubber, kola, cotton,

shea butter Shea butter (, , or ; ) is a fat extracted from yellow the nut of the African shea tree (''Vitellaria paradoxa''). It is ivory in color when raw and commonly dyed yellow with borututu root or palm oil. It is widely used in cosmetics as a moi ...

gum Gum may refer to: Types of gum * Adhesive * Bubble gum * Chewing gum * Gum (botany), sap or other resinous material associated with certain species of the plant kingdom ** Gum arabic, made from the sap of ''Acacia senegal'', an Old World tree s ...

, indigo

cacao Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and chocolate are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to: Plants *''Theobroma cacao'', a tropical evergreen tree ** ...

and others. In his words, "I thought to conduct this operation in such a manner as to encourage economy, replenishing, and the diffusion of useful and botanical knowledge of commercial importance". The garden fell into neglect after he was posted to the British Honduras. ''Mimetillus moloneyi'' (

Moloney's mimic bat Moloney's mimic bat (''Mimetillus moloneyi'') is a species of vesper bat. It can be found in Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gh ...

) was named after him. After the death of his first wife, he married on 2 March 1897 Frances Isabella Sophia Mary Lewis (1873–1959), daughter of Irish MP Henry Owen Lewis. They moved to Italy in 1911 when his health declined, and he died in Fiesole. His widow returned to Ireland, co-founded the Missionary Sisters of St. Columban, and became a nun.

Publications

* "West African Fisheries, with Particular Reference to the Gold Coast Colony", Sir Cornelius Alfred Moloney, 1883, W. Clowes. * "Sketch of the Forestry of West Africa with Particular Reference to Its Present Principal Commercial Products", Sir Cornelius Alfred Moloney, 1887, S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington. * "From a Silver to a Gold Standard in British Honduras", an article from The North American Review, Volume 163. 1896. * "Preferential Tariff within the British Empire" is an article from The North American Review, Volume 187. 1908.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moloney, Cornelius Alfred Governors of Trinidad and Tobago Governors of the Gambia History of Lagos 1848 births 1913 deaths British expatriates in Nigeria British expatriates in the Gambia British expatriates in Trinidad and Tobago Governors of the Lagos Colony Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Governors of British Honduras Governors of the Windward Islands