General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir Orfeur Cavenagh (8 October 1820 – 3 July 1891) was the last India-appointed

Governor of the Straits Settlements The governor of the Straits Settlements was appointed by the British East India Company until 1867, when the Straits Settlements became a Crown colony. Thereafter the governor was appointed by the Colonial Office. The position existed from 1826 ...

, who governed the Settlements from 1859 to 1867.

Family background

Cavenagh was the third son of James Gordon Cavenagh and Ann née Coates.

Career

Cavenagh trained at Addiscombe Military Seminary, the military academy of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. He passed his examination in June 1837, and early in 1838 joined the 32nd Regiment Native Infantry. In 1840 he passed the prescribed examination at

Fort William College Fort William College (also known as the College of Fort William) was an academy of oriental studies and a centre of learning, founded on 18 August 1800 by Lord Wellesley, then Governor-General of British India, located within the Fort William co ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. He was appointed interpreter and quartermaster to the 41st Regiment Native Infantry. In 1840–41 he was attached to the force employed in watching the

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

frontier.Letter of January 20, 1868 to R Bain, Adjutant General Bengal Staff Corps in He was adjutant of the 4th Irregular Cavalry (

Skinner's Horse The 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) is a regiment of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. It traces its origins as a cavalry regiment from the times of the East India Company, followed by its service in the British Indian Army and finally, afte ...

), and in December 1843 was badly wounded in the Battle of Maharajpore. His leg was severed just above the ankle by a round shot and his horse was killed under him. He was wounded again in January 1846 during the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of ...

, when he was struck in the left arm by a ricochetting round shot. After this he was appointed as Superintendent of the Mysore Princes and of the ex-Ameers of

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

. In 1850 he travelled to Britain and France in political charge of the Nepal Embassy under

Jung Bahadur Rana Maharaja Jung Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji, (born Bir Narsingh Kunwar ( ne, वीर नरसिंह कुँवर), 18 June 1817; popularly known as Jung Bahadur Rana (JBR, ne, जङ्गबहादुर राणा)) () belonging to the ...

. In 1854 he was appointed Town and Fort Major of

. In this role he was responsible to the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, the Marquess of Dalhousie followed by Lord Canning, for the safety of Fort William during the time of the

Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

. It was in recognition of his services during the Rebellion that Canning offered him the post of Governor of the Straits Settlements: he took up the post on 8 August 1859. Under a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

of 1826,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

and

Dinding The Manjung District, formerly Dindings, is a district in the southwestern part of the state of Perak, Malaysia. The district is well known for Pangkor Island, an attraction in Perak and the home of the Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM), Lumut Naval Ba ...

had been combined to form the Straits Settlements. The Governor of the Settlements and his council were answerable to the

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

in Calcutta. The Governor had little formal power, but was able to influence the Calcutta authorities who relied largely on the recommendations of these representatives on legislation and policy in each settlement. Control passed from Bengal to the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

in London on 1 April 1867 and the Settlements became a

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

. Cavenagh was the last Governor who reported to the Governor-General in Calcutta. His successor, Sir

Harry Ord Sir Harry St. George Ord (17 June 1819 – 20 August 1885) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Bermuda between 1861 and 1864, Governor of the Straits Settlements between 1867 and 1873, and Governor of Western Australi ...

, reported to the Colonial Office in London. After his term as Straits Settlements governor ended on 16 March 1867, Cavenagh continued as a

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

in the

Bengal Staff Corps Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, with promotion to lieutenant general in September 1874 and to

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in August 1877.

Personal life

Cavenagh married Elizabeth Marshall Moriarty on 7 September 1842 at

Dinapore Danapur is a Indian satellite town and one of the 6 sub-divisions (Tehsil) in Patna district of Bihar state.Long Ditton Long Ditton is a residential suburb in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England on the boundary with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. In medieval times it was a village, occupying a narrow strip of land. Neighbouring settlem ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and in June 1884 he was made honorary colonel of the 5th Surrey Volunteer Corps. He died on 3 July 1891 and was buried in the St Mary's churchyard in Long Ditton. There is also a memorial plaque inside the church.

Honours

Cavenagh was appointed Knight Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India (KCSI) in the 1881 Birthday Honours on 24 May 1881.

Legacy

Singapore's Cavenagh Road and

Cavenagh Bridge Cavenagh Bridge is the only suspension bridge and one of the oldest bridges in Singapore, spanning the lower reaches of the Singapore River in the Downtown Core. Opened in 1869 to commemorate Singapore's new Crown colony of the Straits Settlements ...

is named in honour of the governor. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the Cavenagh family can still be seen atop the signage at both ends of the bridge.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Cavenagh family fonds
at University of Victoria, Special Collections
Cavenagh family letterbooks
at University of Victoria, Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavenagh, Orfeur Governors of the Straits Settlements Administrators in British India 1820 births 1891 deaths Alumni of Addiscombe Military Seminary British Indian Army generals British East India Company Army officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Administrators in British Singapore British military personnel of the Gwalior Campaign British military personnel of the First Anglo-Sikh War People from Hythe, Kent English amputees Bengal Staff Corps officers