William Des Vœux
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Sir George William Des Vœux (22 September 1834 – 15 December 1909) was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
(1880–1885), Newfoundland (1886–1887), and
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
(1887–1891).


Early life

Des Vœux was born as the eighth of nine children of Reverend Henry Des Vœux and his second wife Fanny Elizabeth Hutton in Baden-Baden, Germany, on 22 September 1834. His grandfather was Irish politician Sir Charles des Voeux, 1st Baronet.im Thurn, E. F.; Milne, Lynn, rev. "Des Vœux, Sir (George) William". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004 ed.). Oxford University Press. . Retrieved 9 May 2020. His great-grandfather was a Huguenot from
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, France, who settled in Ireland in the early 18th century. Des Vœux attended a public school in London before starting his studies at
Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...
(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 becoming a clergyman or seeking his fortune in the colonies. Des Vœux then moved to Canada, where he finished his BA at the University of Toronto and became a
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
in
Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...
in 1861.


Colonial services

Des Vœux became stipendiary magistrate and superintendent of rivers and creeks in British Guiana from 1863 to 1869, where he championed native causes. First stipendiary magistrate in the East Bank Demerara district, he was later transferred to the Upper Demerara-Berbice region, he argued that this transfer was to limit his influence and power on decisions being made in the main city of the colony Georgetown. He was one of the leading figures (with Joseph Beaumont and James Crosby) against the system of Indian indenture system. 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. 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.


Governor of Hong Kong

Des Vœux served as the tenth
Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the United Kingdom, British The Crown, Crown in British Hong Kong, Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executiv ...
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, daughter of submarine telegraphy pioneer John Pender and Emma Denison. They had two daughters and five sons, three of whom died in infancy. Des Vœux died in
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, England, on 15 December 1909. William Des Vœux's son Henry John (1876-1940), married Dorothy Turner-Farley in 1911. Their son, Lt-Colonel Sir Richard, the eighth and last Des Vœux baronet, was killed in action at Arnhem in September 1944.


Honours

*
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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...
, 1877 *
Knight Commander 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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...
, 1883 * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, 1893


Namesakes

* Des Voeux Road, Hong Kong * Des Voeux Peak, second highest peak on Taveuni Island, Fiji


References


Sources

*Stephanie Williams, ''Running the Show: The Extraordinary Stories of the Men who Governed the British Empire'', Viking 2011, .


External links

* * *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 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Des Voeux, George William Chief secretaries (British Empire) High commissioners for the Western Pacific 1834 births 1909 deaths Des Voeux family Governors of Fiji Governors of Hong Kong Governors of Newfoundland Colony Governors of British Saint Lucia British Guiana judges British expatriates in Canada British expatriates in Guyana Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford University of Toronto alumni British people of French descent Irish people of French descent People from Baden-Baden 19th-century Hong Kong people 19th-century British politicians