A Government Name
The first governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island, Richard Blanshard, was appointed in 1849 by royal commission (21 July 1849, Queen Victoria). Prior to that, the affairs of the colony were also the affairs of the Hudson’s Bay Company and were administered by the chief factor (James Douglas) and employees of the company.
In 1849, Vancouver Island was granted to the company as a colony. Blanshard arrived in Victoria in March 1850 to take up the position of Governor. The instructions issued to him included the authority to issue writs of summons and writs of elections, administer oaths, grant or withhold assent to bills, appoint and suspend public officials as instructed by the Crown, grant pardon or clemency to persons convicted in colonial courts, issue marriage licenses, and ensure that proper records were kept of all matters within the jurisdiction of the colony.
Blanshard resigned in 1851 and James Douglas was appointed as Governor of the colony. The Hudson’s Bay Company grant expired in 1859 and Britain assumed responsibility for the Colony of Vancouver Island. Douglas continued as Governor until 1863 when he retired and Arthur Edward Kennedy was appointed. Kennedy remained in that position until 1866 when the colony was united with the Colony of British Columbia.
1861-1864 [Photocopied 1977]
1863-1864
1853-1854
1854, 1864
1858-1863
1860, 1861