1. William Denison 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.
29 Facts About William Denison
1. 2.
William Denison 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.
3.
William Denison was one of the junior Royal Engineers who worked under Lt.
4.
William Denison's findings were published by the Institution of Civil Engineers in England who bestowed upon him the prestigious Telford Medal in silver.
5.
William Denison returned to England in 1831 and worked at Woolwich and as an instructor at Chatham from 1833.
6.
William Denison worked at Greenwich observatory with Ramsden's zenith sector and in 1837 he was engineer in charge of Woolwich Dockyard.
7.
William Denison was promoted to captain in 1841 and he visited Bermuda in 1842.
8.
William Denison was knighted for his work in the Admiralty in 1846.
9.
William Denison was offered the position of Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land in 1846 on the recommendation of Sir John Burgoyne, and arrived at Hobart on 25 January 1847.
10.
William Denison was told that no convicts would be sent so that he could fix the problem.
11.
William Denison became at odds with the two judges; the power of the council to levy taxes.
12.
William Denison thereupon charged the judges with neglect of duty in failing to identify the faults in the laws before they were enacted.
13.
William Denison suggested that the Chief Justice should apply for leave of absence, and found an opportunity to dismiss Montagu who was threatened with an action by a creditor.
14.
William Denison was afterwards reprimanded by the Secretary of State, Earl Grey, for his conduct towards Pedder, but the dismissal of Montagu was confirmed.
15.
The discovery of gold in Australia, reduced crime in England and the construction of prisons in England led to a decline in the convict transport and in 1852 Lord Stanley stopped the transport of prisoners to Van Diemen's Land and William Denison closed the penal settlement on Norfolk Island.
16.
William Denison became more popular towards the end of his term.
17.
William Denison was appointed Governor of New South Wales on 20 January 1855.
18.
William Denison 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.
19.
William Denison successfully opposed the Colonial Office's initial decision to put New England and the Clarence Valley in the new colony of Queensland.
20.
William Denison was responsible for closing the penal colony on Norfolk Island and for resettling the mutineers of the Bounty from Pitcairn Island.
21.
William Denison 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.
22.
William Denison opposed separate armies for Bengal, Madras and Bombay and the introduction of Indians into the legislative councils in the presidencies and provinces.
23.
William Denison condemned any ideas of self-rule and representation by Indians.
24.
William Denison opposed competition for the civil services and insisted that officers were above all to be "gentlemen".
25.
William Denison passed a town improvement act in 1865 and revised the land revenue assessment principles.
26.
William Denison died in East Sheen, Surrey and was survived by his wife Caroline Lucy, daughter of Admiral Sir Phipps Hornby, who he had married on 29 November 1838, six sons and four daughters.
27.
William Denison took an interest in science and supported studies on the natural history of India.
28.
William Denison corresponded with Sir Roderick Murchison but was a staunch Anglican Christian, anti-Darwinian and wrote an essay on the antiquity of man and a critique of Essays and Reviews.
29.
William Denison was one of the first recipients of this prize.