Robert Power (1794 – 15 February 1869) was a British Army officer and Surveyor General of Tasmania, (then the colony of Van Diemen's Land, now a state of Australia).[1]
Early life
editPower was born in Knockbrit, Ireland to Edmund Power and Ellen Sheehy. His father was a landowner and the sometime editor of the Clonmel Gazette. His mother was the daughter of Edmund Sheehy, who was executed as an accessory to Nicholas Sheehy, his cousin. He was the brother of the Marguerite Gardiner, the Countess of Blessington, a novelist, biographer and a literary hostess.[2]
Military career
editHe joined the Leitrim Militia before volunteering with the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot. Power was commissioned lieutenant in the 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot in 1815, then as captain in 1817 in the 20th Regiment of Foot.[1] While serving in the 20th Regiment of Foot, he was stationed on the island of Saint Helena, as a captain in the Saint Helena Regiment.[3]
In 1823 Power resigned from the army, in 1838 he was appointed at the rate of 300 pounds deputy-commissioner of crown lands and forests and deputy surveyor general in the British North American province of New Brunswick.[1]
Career in Tasmania
editIn 1840 Power was sent to Van Diemen's Land (later renamed Tasmania), he arrived in Hobart in June 1841. Power was gazetted as Surveyor General of Van Diemen's Land in July 1841,[1] after replacing the ineffective Edward Boyd.[4] Power introduced a system of land leases which greatly increased revenue as the depression of the preceding years eased. He remained as Surveyor General until 1 July 1857. Power was appointed Serjeant-at-arms of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, in July 1866 he became Usher of the black rod. Power died in Hobart on 15 February 1869.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Love, A. R. (1967). "Power, Robert (1794–1869)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
- ^ Madden, Richard Robert; Blessington, Marguerite (2009). The Literary Life and Correspondence of the Countess of Blessington. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139225151. ISBN 978-1-139-22515-1.
- ^ Chaplin, Arnold, 1864-1944 (2013). A St Helena who's who : a complete guide to the people on St Helena during Napoleon's captivity. Fonthill Media. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-78155-175-2. OCLC 899227254.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Stancombe, G. H. (1966). "Boyd, Edward (1794–1871)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 22 June 2012.