Richard Mayne (explorer)
Richard Mayne was the son of Sir
Exploration of British Columbia
In 1856 Lieutenant Mayne was attached to the Nautical Survey of
Straits of Magellan expedition
Mayne commanded HMS Nassau on the survey expedition to the Straits of Magellan, 1866–9.[11] The naturalist on the voyage was Robert Oliver Cunningham. Charles Darwin requested the Lords of the Admiralty to ask Capt. Mayne to collect several boatloads of fossil bones of extinct species of quadrupeds. Admiral Sulivan had previously discovered an astonishingly rich accumulation of fossil bones not far from the Straits. These remains apparently belonged to a more ancient period, than the collection by Mr Darwin on HMS Beagle and by other naturalists and therefore of great interest to science. Many of these were collected with the aid of Hydrographer Capt. Richards R.N. and deposited in the British Museum.[12]
Admiral Mayne was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and served on its council. He was the author of Four years in British Columbia and Vancouver Island.[14][8]
Marriage
In 1870 Captain Mayne married Miss Sabine Dent, a daughter of Sir Thomas Dent (1796–1872), founder of Dent & Co., Hong Kong, and his wife, Sabine Ellen Robarts, daughter of James Thomas Robarts (1784–1825), another influential opium merchant. Sabine Dent was the niece of Lancelot Dent, of Flass House. After his marriage he only served a short term afloat in command of HMS Invincible. He retired as a Rear-Admiral in 1879.[15]
Political career
After retiring from the Navy, he unsuccessfully contested the Welsh constituency of Pembroke and Haverfordwest as a Conservative at the 1885 general election, being defeated by a narrow margin by the Liberal candidate, H.G. Allen.
In 1886, Allen was among the Liberal MPs who broke with Gladstone over Irish Home Rule. Shortly after the election was announced, Mayne arrived in the constituency launch his campaign. At a meeting at the Masonic Hall in Pembroke, he emphasised that he had consulted with Allen before travelling to the constituency and stated that he had a letter in his possession from Allen confirming his decision to retire.[16]
He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) there the following year, serving until his death shortly before the 1892 general election.[15][17]
References
Citations
- )
- ^ Alumni Dublinis
- ^ A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland, Fourth edition. BURKE. Sir John Bernard, London: Harrison, 1875, 1886. 2 vol.
- ^ Inquisition Ultonium, Fermanagh (33),(40) and (55) Car I
- ^ Calendar of State Papers Ireland, 1611-1614,HMPRO, Edited by The Rev C.W. Russell, D.D., and John P. Pendergast, Esq.,London: Longman & Co. 1877
- ^ The Plantation of Ulster, Rev. George Hill, Belfast: McCaw, Stevenson & Orr, 1877 in particular Pynnars Survey p.481-2
- ^ The Fermanagh Story, Pedar Livingston, The Clogher Historical Society, 1969
- ^ a b Mayne, Richard Charles, (1862). Four years in British Columbia and Vancouver Island. An account of their forests, rivers, coasts, gold fields, and resources for colonisation. London, John Murray.
- ^ Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xxxi, p.297, and vol. xxxii, p123
- ^ Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society: Obituary, p.473-5
- ^ Dictionary of national biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. 63 vols. and 2 supplements (6 vols.). London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885--1912
- ^ Letter from B.J. Sulivan, 27 June 1866 and nn. 6 and 7 in the Darwin Letters. See:[1], [2]
- ^ Mayne 1871.
- ^ NB in the context of that title the name "Vancouver" references the Colony of Vancouver Island, as the modern city of Vancouver had not yet been founded or named at the time of publication. Likewise the name "British Columbia" references the Colony of British Columbia, which was not yet united with Vancouver Island as a single colony.
- ^ a b Lee, Sidney, ed. (1894). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 37. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ "The Representation of the Pembroke and Haverfordwest Boroughs". Pembrokeshire Herald. 2 July 1886. p. 2. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
- ^ Historical list of MPs: P[usurped], at Leigh Rayment's Peerage pages
Bibliography
- Mayne, Richard Charles (1871). Sailing Directions for Magellan Strait, and Channels Leading to the Gulf of Peñas. Hydrogaphic Office, Admiralty. pp. 37–84.