William Denison
Sir William Thomas Denison KCB (3 May 1804 – 19 January 1871) was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1847 to 1855, Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861, and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866.
For other people with the same name, see William Dennison (disambiguation).
Sir William Denison
Sir Henry Young
Sir Charles FitzRoy
Sir John Young
3 May 1804
London, England
19 January 1871 (aged 66)
East Sheen, Surrey, England
Caroline Hornby
According to Percival Serle, Denison was a man of high character and a good administrator. In his early days in Tasmania he spoke too frankly about the colonists in communications which he regarded as confidential, and this accentuated the feeling against him as a representative of the colonial office during the anti-transportation and responsible government movements. He showed great interest in the life of the colony, and helped to foster education, science and trade, during the period when Tasmania was developing into a prosperous colony. In New South Wales his task was easier, and he had no difficulty in coping adequately with the problems that arose during the early days of responsible government in Australia.[1]
Early life[edit]
Denison was the third son of John Denison, of Ossington, M.P. for Colchester and his second wife Charlotte Estwick,[2] his brothers were Evelyn Denison (1800–1873), the future Speaker of the House of Commons, and clergymen Edward Denison (1801–1854) and George Anthony Denison (1805–1896). He was born in London and studied at a private school in Sunbury before going to study at Eton College and the Royal Military College and entered the Royal Engineers in 1826 after spending some time in the Ordnance Survey. In November 1838 he married Caroline Hornby.[3][4]
Rideau Canal, Upper Canada[edit]
Lt. Denison was one of the junior Royal Engineers who worked under Lt. Colonel John By on the Rideau Canal in Upper Canada (1826–1832). Of note, Denison carried out experiments under the direction of Lt. Col. By to determine the strength, for construction purposes of the old growth Canadian timber in the vicinity of Bytown. His findings were published by the Institution of Civil Engineers in England who bestowed upon him the prestigious Telford Medal in silver.[5]
He returned to England in 1831 and worked at Woolwich and as an instructor at Chatham from 1833. He worked at Greenwich observatory with Ramsden's zenith sector and in 1837 he was engineer in charge of Woolwich Dockyard. He was promoted to captain in 1841 and he visited Bermuda in 1842. In 1844 he worked with the royal commission on the health of towns. Denison was knighted for his work in the Admiralty in 1846.[4]
Governor of New South Wales[edit]
Denison was appointed Governor of New South Wales on 20 January 1855. In 1856, he became both Governor of New South Wales and "Governor-General in and over all our Colonies of New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia", a role intended to encourage co-operation between the colonies. In response to the Crimean War, he strengthened Sydney's defences, strengthening the batteries on Dawes Point and building Fort Denison. He inaugurated the bicameral system of representative government in New South Wales, and showed wisdom and tact in his dealings with the problems which arose, including the handing of executive power to the new Parliament. He successfully opposed the Colonial Office's initial decision to put New England and the Clarence Valley in the new colony of Queensland. In 1859, he appointed Queensland's first Legislative Council and began the process of electing a Legislative Assembly, inaugurated on 22 May 1860. While he opened the colony's first railway in 1855, he ignored the problem of different rail gauges despite his role as Governor-General, although he was more active in developing arrangements for paying for postal connections with the United Kingdom, ameliorating inter-colonial tariffs and co-operation over the provision of lighthouses.[3]
Denison was responsible for closing the penal colony on Norfolk Island and for resettling the mutineers of the Bounty from Pitcairn Island. He initially instructed that the Island, except for certain public reserves would be vested in the Pitcairners, and was then forced by the Colonial Office to withdraw the vesting of land, leading to a lasting grievance.[3] When visiting New Zealand gave sensible advice to Colonel Gore Browne, which if followed, might have averted the New Zealand Wars. In November 1860 he received word that he had been appointed governor of Madras, and left Sydney on 22 January 1861.[1]
Honours[edit]
The Institution of Civil Engineers in England bestowed upon him the prestigious Telford Medal in 1837 for his paper on his experiments testing the strength of Canadian timber. He was one of the first recipients of this prize.
Denison was knighted before leaving for Tasmania and was created a K.C.B. in 1856.[1]
A federal and state electoral division in Tasmania were named for Denison. Port Denison (off the coast of Bowen, Queensland) was named after him.[8]
Taxa named in honour of Denison[edit]
Two Indian species are named after William Denison: a fish, the Denison barb (Sahyadria denisonii ), from the Western Ghats; and a plant, Impatiens denisonii, from the Nilgiri hills.[9]
A genus of Australian venomous snakes, Denisonia, is named in honour of William Denison.[10]