Sir William Jervois
Sir William Jervois, circa 1880
10th Governor of the Straits Settlements
In office May 1875 – 1877
Preceded by	Andrew Clarke
Succeeded by	Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson
10th Governor of South Australia
In office 2 October 1877 – 9 January 1883
Monarch	Victoria
Premier	James Boucaut (1877–78) William Morgan (1878–81) John Cox Bray (1881–83)
Preceded by	Sir Anthony Musgrave
Succeeded by	Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson
10th Governor of New Zealand
In office 20 January 1883 – 23 March 1889
Monarch	Victoria
Premier	Frederick Whitaker Harry Atkinson Robert Stout
Preceded by	The Baron Stanmore
Succeeded by	The Earl of Onslow
Personal details
Born	(1821-09-10)10 September 1821
Died	17 August 1897(1897-08-17) (aged 75)

Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, GCMG, CB (10 September 1821–17 August 1897) was a British military engineer who saw service, as Second Captain, in South Africa. In 1858, as a Major, he was appointed Secretary of a Royal Commission set up to examine the state and efficiency of British land-based fortifications against naval attack; and this led to further work in Canada and South Australia. From 1875 to 1888 he was, consecutively, Governor of the Straits Settlements, Governor of South Australia and Governor-General of New Zealand.

Born on 10 September 1821 in Cowes in the Isle of Wight, the son of Sir William and Elizabeth Jervois, a military family of Huguenot descent. He was educated in Gosport before entering the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.^[1]

Jervois joined the British Army in 1839, and was educated and commissioned as a Royal Engineer. As a Second Captain he saw service in the 7th Xhosa War, 1846-1847 during which he drew military sketches of British Kaffraria (now part of the Eastern Cape Province) in South Africa.^[2] Returning to Britain in 1848, he became the Commanding Royal Engineer for the London District in 1855 and Deputy Inspector-General of Fortifications the following year. Major Jervois became Secretary of a Royal Commission set up on 20 August 1859 to examine the state and efficiency of land-based fortifications against naval attack.^[3] It was specificlly tasked to consider Portsmouth, Spithead, the Isle of Wight, Plymouth, Portland, Pembroke Dock, Dover, Chatham and the Medway.^[3] Their report was published on 7 February 1860; and, amongst others, proposed several options for a ring of defences around London, none of which were adopted, although elements were used in the later London Defence Scheme.^[3] Jarvois went on to oversee the design of the resulting new fortications which became known as the Palmerston Forts.^[4] In 1864 and 1865, he reviewed fortifications in Canada, submitting what became a politically controversial report that stated that the Great Lakes and Upper Canada were not defensible. In 1871 he was sent to advise on fortifications in India and then worked on the defences of Cork harbour, which were completed in 1874.

Following the withdrawal of British garrison troops from Australia in 1870, Jervois and Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Scratchley were commissioned by a group of colonies to advise on defence matters. They inspected each colony's defences and produced the Jervois-Scratchley reports of 1877.^[5] Not surprisingly these also emphasised fortifications against naval attack. These reports went on to form the basis of defence planning in Australia and New Zealand for the next 30 years.

At the close of his diplomatic career (see below), he was appointed to serve on the 1890 Stanhope Commission which again reviewed the state of Britain's fortifications.^[2]

In April 1875, Jervois was appointed the Governor of the Straits Settlements, a British dependency which included Penang, Malacca and Singapore. He took office in Singaporte on 8 May 1875, and served until 3 April 1877.^[6] Decisions he made during his tenure cemented Britain's foothold on the Malay peninsula; he was instrumental in the formation of a local militia and the quelling of a malaysian uprising. Although distrustful of Malays, he was sympathetic to the Chinese and would later bolster public support for Oriental immigration during his time as Governor of South Australia.^[7]

During an 1877 inspection of Australian maritime defences, Jervois was appointed Governor of South Australia. He was given notice of his "promotion" while in Melbourne in June, although the true reason for his reassignment was that the Colonial Office disliked his interference on the Malay mainland. Jervois arrived in South Australia on HMS Sapphire on 2 October 1877.^[7]

Jervois arrived in the colony during a time of political crisis. Later in October, the Colton Ministry resigned over a disagreement with the senate about the new Parliamentary buildings. Jervois resisted the pressure to dissolve parliament, and James Boucaut became Premier. Jervois' term also coincided with unusually good rainfall and a massive agricultral expansion. He laid the foundation stones of the University of Adelaide, the Institute and the Art Gallery, and commissioned a new vice-regal summer residence at Marble Hill.^[7]

Jervois then served as Governor-General of New Zealand from 1882 to 1888.^[6][8] He died in 1897 after a carriage accident and was buried at Virginia Water, Surrey.

The prominent streets Jervois Quay in Wellington, Jervois Road in Auckland, as well as Jervois Close and Jervois Road in Singapore are named after him.

He was invested CB in 1863, KCMG in 1874 and GCMG in 1878.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1888. ^[9]

• Corresp: Actions of Perak Expeditionary Force post-murder of Birch
• Governor of Penang

Notes

Sources

• Detailed biography
• Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

Template:Persondata