William Pedder (21 June 1801 – 1854) was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

who was the fourth person appointed, under the first two

Chief Superintendent Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces, especially in those organised on the British model. Rank insignia of chief superintendent File:Sa-police-chief-superintendent.png, South Australia Police File:RCMP Chief Superintendent.pn ...

s, for the administration of the Government of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and its second legal officer. He was Hong Kong's first

Harbour Master A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operat ...

and Marine Magistrate.

Early life

Pedder was born on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, probably the son of George Pedder, a surgeon, and his wife Mary Apsey. He entered the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

on 5 April 1814 and served in 1821 on together with fellow Midshipman and later to be first Administrator of Hong Kong

Charles Elliot Admiral Sir Charles Elliot (15 August 1801 – 9 September 1875) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He became the first Administrator of Hong Kong in 1841 while serving as both Plenipotentiary and Chief Su ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant on 11 June 1822 and commissioned on 21 June 1824. Pedder married another Pedder, daughter of J Pedder, on 17 October 1825 in Swansea. By May 1838, they had sons William Henry and Frederick, and daughter Susan, and two more sons were to follow. In October 1834, Pedder joined the Coastguard as a Chief Officer and continued in that service till 1839.

China

Pedder was appointed First Officer of the secret

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 South ...

vessel , a revolutionary iron steam-ship design, upon its completion in 1839, under Captain William Hutcheon Hall, another of his former fellow midshipmen on ''Iphigenia''. On 27 February 1841, Pedder was one of a landing party at Whampoa Reach and praised by his commander for his gallantry in his role in the capture of the Chinese forts on the

Bocca Tigris The Humen, also Bocca Tigris or Bogue, is a narrow strait in the Pearl River Delta that separates Shiziyang in the north and Lingdingyang in the south near Humen Town in China's Guangdong Province. It is the site of the Pearl River's discharge ...

. He was appointed Harbour Master and Marine Magistrate of Hong Kong on 31 July 1841. He established Hong Kong's first police force, the Water Police, at some time between late 1841 and April 1842. Pedder's duties as Harbour Master were to control movements of all vessels, including use of anchorages, to maintain good order and to issue notices of deadlines for accepting outgoing mail. He had full magisterial and police authority in respect of the imposition of the harbour control regulations. His supporting staff initially consisted of Assistant Harbour Master and Officiating Marine Magistrate, together with their clerks, Indian interpreters, boatmen and coolies. His office was a room in his house, then situated on a hill by the harbour, next to the road bearing his name. A separate building a short distance to the east of his home was adopted for the formal Harbour Master's Office in 1845, on the site of today's Bank of China Building, Bank Street. Pedder was a committee member of the Society for the Relief of Destitute Sick Foreigners, formed in 1846. Suffering ill health, Pedder took leave of absence from his duties in November 1853 and returned to England. He died on 16 March 1854 at Ryde,

, and probate of his will was granted the same year.

Legacy

One of Hong Kong's first streets to be laid out was named in his honour as was one of its earliest piers. The area above modern-day Central on Ice House and

Wyndham Street Wyndham Street is a one-way street in Central, Hong Kong. It is one of the earliest colonial streets, once known as Pedder Hill. Location It starts at the junction with Hollywood Road and Arbuthnot Road, near the Central Police Station, an ...

s was known as Pedder's Hill at least until the last years of the 19th century.

References

{{reflist People of British Hong Kong