Sir William Lamond Allardyce, GCMG (14 November 1861 – 9 June 1930) was a career British civil servant in the Colonial Office who served as governor of Fiji (1901–1902), the Falkland Islands (1904–1914), Bahamas (1914–1920), Tasmania (1920–1922), and Newfoundland (1922–1928).

Sir William Allardyce
Acting High Commissioner for the Western Pacific
In office
1901 – 10 September 1902
MonarchEdward VII
Preceded bySir George O'Brien
Succeeded bySir Henry Jackson
Acting Governor of Fiji
In office
1901 – 10 September 1902
MonarchEdward VII
Preceded bySir George O'Brien
Succeeded bySir Henry Jackson
13th Governor of the Falkland Islands
In office
March 1904 – February 1914
MonarchsEdward VII
George V
Preceded bySir William Grey-Wilson
Succeeded bySir William Young
48th Governor of the Bahamas
In office
15 June 1914 – 8 December 1920
MonarchGeorge V
Preceded bySir George Haddon-Smith
Succeeded bySir Harry Cordeaux
13th Governor of Tasmania
In office
16 April 1920 – 27 January 1922
Preceded bySir Francis Newdegate
Succeeded bySir James O'Grady
5th Governor of Newfoundland
In office
1 September 1922 – 1 October 1928
MonarchGeorge V
Prime MinisterRichard Squires
William Warren
Albert Hickman
Walter Stanley Monroe
Frederick C. Alderdice
Preceded bySir Charles Harris
Succeeded bySir John Middleton
Personal details
Born(1861-11-14)14 November 1861
Bombay, Bombay Presidency, India
Died9 June 1930(1930-06-09) (aged 68)
Wokingham, Berkshire, England
Spouse(s)Constance Angel Greene (m.1895, d.1919)
Elsie Elizabeth Goodfellow, (nee Stewart, m.1920)

Biography

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Allardyce was born near Bombay, India, the son of Georgina Dickson Abbott and Colonel James Allardyce. Educated in Aberdeen, Scotland and at Oxford Military College, at the age of 18, he joined the British Civil Service in the Colonial Office. His brother Kenneth was also a colonial administrator, serving as Secretary for Native Affairs in Fiji.[1]

Allardyce first posting was Fiji, where, just two years after his arrival, he was named acting Resident Commissioner for the island of Rotuma. The following year as magistrate and seven years later he was appointed to the Native Regulation Board and made the commissioner of the Supreme Court. In 1894, he was made Commissioner for Native Lands and given a seat in the Legislative Council. In 1895, he was appointed Native Commissioner, the chief liaison between the Fijian natives and the British. The following year he was appointed Receiver-General. He subsequently became Colonial Secretary and a member of the Executive Council in 1898.[2][3]

In 1904, Allardyce was appointed as Governor of the Falkland Islands. After ten years at the Falklands, he was then transferred to the Bahamas to become its governor, a position he held for six years. Allardyce then became governor of Tasmania but retired after only two years—taking the last three months as leave—as a result of his failure to obtain an increase in his salary of £2750. In fact, a statement made to the Parliament of Tasmania on his salary and allowances was followed by a vote by the Legislative Assembly to abolish his office, although the same motion was defeated in the Legislative Council. Nevertheless, when he left office he was widely praised for his performance of the office.[4]

Allardyce was subsequently ordered to Newfoundland where he was to succeed Sir Charles Alexander Harris as Governor of Newfoundland, where he was invited to become patron of the Great War Veterans Association. He was the official Crown representative of the unveiling of the National War Memorial by Field Marshal the Earl Haig on 1 July 1924. He officiated at the opening of the other national war memorial, Memorial University College, on 15 September 1925. Allardyce as governor was a key promoter in the decision awarding jurisdiction over most of the Labrador Peninsula to Newfoundland by the Privy Council.

In 1916, Allardyce was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George by King George V. He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1927.

Allardyce was noted as one of the most competent administrators ever appointed by the Colonial Office to serve as the official representative of the British Crown in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Allardyce died of cancer on 9 June 1930 at Wokingham, Berkshire, England.[4] The Allardyce Range on the island of South Georgia is named for him.

Family

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Allardyce married twice. First, in 1895, to Constance Angel Greene of Melbourne, Australia, daughter of Molesworth Richard Greene.[5][6] She died in 1918; then, in 1920, he married Elsie Elizabeth Stewart,[7] widow of A.C. Goodfellow. In 1923, Lady Allardyce helped start the Girl Guide movement in Newfoundland, and then in 1924, she established the Newfoundland Outport Nursing and Industrial Association (NONIA).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Death of K.J. Allardyce Pacific Islands Monthly, May 1937, p71
  2. ^ Fiji Blue Book for the Year 1903, p80
  3. ^ Fiji Blue Book for the Year 1901, p76
  4. ^ a b McLeod, E. A. (1979). "Allardyce, Sir William Lamond (1861–1930)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
  5. ^ McLeod, E. A. "Sir William Lamond Allardyce (1861–1930)". Allardyce, Sir William Lamond (1861–1930). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 15 March 2020. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Hone, Ann. "Molesworth Richard Greene (1827–1916)". Greene, Molesworth Richard (1827–1916). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 15 March 2020. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "Lady Elsie Elizabeth Allardyce (née Stewart), Second wife of Sir William Lamond Allardyce; previous wife of Adam Goodfellow; daughter of James Stewart". National Portrait Gallery, London.
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Government offices
Preceded by High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, acting
1901–1902
Succeeded by
Governor of Fiji, acting
1901–1902
Preceded by Governor of the Falkland Islands
1904–1914
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of the Bahamas
1914–1920
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Tasmania
1920–1922
Succeeded by
Preceded by Dominion Governor of Newfoundland
1922–1928
Succeeded by