b. 1828-08-31
d. 1888-10-03
Sir Anthony Musgrave arrived in
British Columbia on
23 August 1869. He was governor of
Newfoundland at the time, but after
Governor Seymour passed away on
10 June 1869, Musgrave was appointed governor of
British Columbia. Musgrave had put his best efforts into getting
Newfoundland to join Canada, and, despite being unsuccessful there, he advocated strongly for
BC to join Confederation from the moment he arrived. Musgrave and his delegates firmly negotiated beneficial terms for British Columbians
if they were to join with Canada, the most important of which was Canada's commitment
to the construction of a transcontinental railway. Two years after his arrival, in
1871,
BC officially joined Confederation.
Musgrave made integral changes to the nature of
BC's government including the introduction of responsible government and the increase
of public service workers salaries. He also made it a requirement for legislative candidates to have lived in the colony
for at least three months, and to be able to read English. In
1871, Musgrave was awarded the Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George for
his efforts.
Musgrave attended grammar school in
Antigua where he was born and studied law at the Inner Temple in
London. His family had long held public office in
Antigua, and shortly into his studies abroad he was made Colonial Secretary there. He soon was appointed governor of
St. Vincent; and in
1864 he moved to North America and became governor of
Newfoundland. After serving as governor of
BC, Musgrave went on to govern many other colonies of the commonwealth including Natal,
South Australia,
Jamaica and Queensland, where he died in
1888.
- 1. Kent M. Haworth Musgrave, Sir Anthony, Canadian Dictionary of Biography.
- 2. Ibid.
- 3. Geoffrey Bolton Musgrave, Sir Anthony (1828-1888),
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- 4. Ibid.
- 5. Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador Musgrave, Sir Anthony (1828-1888),
Memorial University.
- 6. Bolton Musgrave, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; Haworth Musgrave, Canadian Dictionary of Biography.
- 7. Haworth Musgrave, Canadian Dictionary of Biography.
- 8. Bolton Musgrave, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- 9. Haworth Musgrave, Canadian Dictionary of Biography; Bolton Musgrave, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- 10. Haworth Musgrave, Canadian Dictionary of Biography.
- 11. Ibid.
- 12. Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador Musgrave,
Memorial University.