Charles Whybrow Ligar
Charles Whybrow Ligar | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 17 January 1881 San Antonio, Texas, US | (aged 69)
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Surveyor |
Office | Senior Civil Assistant, Ordnance Survey of Ireland, –1840[2]: 154 Surveyor General of New Zealand, 1842–56[3] Lieutenant Colonel, Auckland Battalion of Militia, 1845[4] Justice of the Peace for the Province of Auckland, 1856[5] Justice of the Peace for the Colony of New Zealand, 1857[6] Surveyor General of Victoria, 1858–69 |
Charles Whybrow Ligar (1811–1881)
Early life
Charles Ligar was born on 24 July 1811 in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, where his father was stationed. From the age of 13 years he was educated at the Royal Military College (1825–1828).[7]
Career
Reputedly commissioned in the
In London, on 16 February 1841, the Queen was pleased to appoint Ligar to be Surveyor General of the Colony of New Zealand.[10] Together with the survey staff Lord John Russell had commissioned Captain Robert Kearsley Dawson, RE, to select,[11] Ligar and family departed Gravesend on 16 April and Plymouth on 14 May 1841, on the Prince Rupert, for New Zealand.[12][1]
New Zealand
After being shipwrecked at the
A meeting had been held as early as mid-July 1841 to establish the Auckland Mechanics' Institute.[14] On 5 September 1842 the Institute elected Ligar as vice-president. His former superior in Ireland, now Commanding Royal Engineer, New Zealand, Lieutenant George Augustus Bennett, RE, was elected president, [15] and Acting Governor Willoughby Shortland, RN, took on the role of patron on 22 September.[16]
Ligar was also appointed land titles commissioner in the late 1840s.[1] He purchased a vast quantity of land from the Maoris for the European settlers.
Following the
Ligar resigned as Surveyor General in 1856,[8] and went to Otago, unsuccessfully seeking to become the provincial surveyor.[1] He discovered gold in the Mataura River while searching for grazing land.[1]
Australia
Ligar was appointed Surveyor General of Victoria in 1858 (replacing Clement Hodgkinson), promising to reduce survey costs and open the land for settlers. Ligar initially proposed to replace all government surveyors with contractors, a move that was not popular. At this time though, one great saving was achieved through the development and implementation of photolithographic duplication of plans, a process developed "in-house" by John Walter Osborne.[20] By 1869, leading politicians were demanding his removal and Ligar resigned in September.[1] His replacement as Surveyor General was Alexander John Skene. In 1869 Ligar married Marie, daughter of the late Captain Williams, of Auckland, New Zealand.[9][8]
Late life
Ligar retired initially to Europe, lived for some time in Germany, Morocco, Algeria and Spain, then took up ranching in Texas, US. He died there in February 1881 and was buried at Willow Springs, Parker County, Texas.[1]
References
- ^ ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
- ^ a b Andrews, John Harwood (1975). A Paper Landscape: The Ordnance Survey in the Nineteenth Century. Clarendon Press.
- ^ "New Zealand Herald and Auckland Gazette". Vol. 1, no. 38. 29 December 1841. p. 2.
- ^ "Appointments in the Auckland Battalion of Militia". New Zealand Government Gazette. Vol. 5, no. 7. Auckland. 12 April 1845.
- ^ "Government Gazette". The New-Zealander. Vol. 12, no. 1116. 27 December 1856. p. 4.
- ^ "Government Gazette". The New-Zealander. Vol. 13, no. 1156. 16 May 1857. p. 3.
- ^ "The Sandhurst Collection".[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e Mennell, Philip (1892). . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
- ^ a b "The New Zealand Herald and Daily Southern Cross". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. 18, no. 6020. 4 March 1881. p. 5.
- ^ "Downing-Street, February 16, 1841". The London Gazette. No. 19954. 19 February 1841. p. 431.
- ^ "New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator". Vol. 2, no. 72. 28 August 1841. p. 2.
- ^ a b "New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator". Vol. 2, no. 97. 11 December 1841. p. 2.
- ^ "Arrived". New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator. Vol. 2, no. 97. 11 December 1841. p. 2.
- ^ "Domestic Intelligence. Mechanics' Institute". New Zealand Herald and Auckland Gazette. Vol. 1, no. 2. 17 July 1841. p. 3.
- ^ Auckland Mechanics' Institute (1832–1880), Minute Books – via Auckland Libraries, Special Collections
- ^ "Auckland Times". Vol. 1, no. 7. 26 September 1842. p. 2.
- ^ "Appointments in the Auckland Battalion of Militia". New Zealand Government Gazette. Vol. 5, no. 7. Auckland. 12 April 1845.
- ^ "Government Gazette Notices: Appointments in the Auckland Battalion of Militia". Daily Southern Cross. Vol. 3, no. 105. 19 April 1845. p. 4.
- ^ Ligar, Charles Whybrow. Sketch of the routes between the Bay of Islands and Hokianga, shewing the Native paths, and the position of the hostile Natives on the 8th May and 1st July, 1845 (Map) – via Alexander Turnbull Library MapColl-832.11gmbh/1845/Acc.413.
- The Ballarat Star. No. 14562. Victoria, Australia. 31 December 1902. p. 3. Retrieved 25 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.