Sir Cornelius Alfred Moloney (1848 – 13 August 1913) was a British colonial administrator. He served as British Administrator of

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

from 1884 to 1886, Governor of

Lagos Colony Lagos Colony was a British Empire, British colonial possession centred on the port of Lagos in what is now southern Nigeria. Lagos was Lagos Treaty of Cession, annexed on 6 August 1861 under the threat of force by Commander Beddingfield of HMS ...

from 1886 to 1890, Governor of

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

from 1891 to 1897, Governor of the Federal Colony of the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

from 1897 to 1900, and Governor of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

from November 1900 to 1904. It was during his term as governor of Trinidad and Tobago that the 1903 Water Riots took place. The riot resulted in the destruction of the Red House, the seat of government. Moloney was made a Companion of the

Order of St. Michael and St. George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(C.M.G.) the

1882 Birthday Honours The 1882 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to ...

, later being promoted to Knight Commander (K.C.M.G.) in the

1890 New Year Honours The 1890 New Year Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British Raj, British India. They were announced in ''The Times'' on 1 Jan ...

. Moloney was concerned that the

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

value of products of colonies in general, and of those administered by him in his diplomatic roles in particular, should be better propagated, and he believed that this would encourage the economy and provide instruction to the natives. To this end he established an exemplary

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

, in 1883, at Kokoinaiko (possibly Okokomaiko), Lagos colony, for the growth of plants of marketable value, including

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

kola unit was the big kola int eh Kola may refer to: People * Koła, a Polish noble family * Kola (name), people with the given name/surname Kola * Kola (singer), Ukrainian singer, songwriter and performer of her own songs * Kola people, Gabonese p ...

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

shea butter Shea butter ( , , or ; ) is a fat (triglyceride; mainly oleic acid and stearic acid) extracted from the nut of the African shea tree ('' Vitellaria paradoxa''). It is ivory in color when raw and commonly dyed yellow with borututu root or ...

, gum,

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

cacao and others. In his words, "I thought to conduct this operation in such a manner as to encourage economy, replenishing, and the diffusion of useful and botanical knowledge of commercial importance". The garden fell into neglect after he was posted to the British Honduras. ''Mimetillus moloneyi'' (

Moloney's mimic bat Moloney's mimic bat (''Mimetillus moloneyi'') is a species of vesper bat. It can be found in Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana ...

) was named after him. After the death of his first wife, he married on 2 March 1897 Frances Isabella Sophia Mary Lewis (1873–1959), daughter of Irish MP Henry Owen Lewis. They moved to Italy in 1911 when his health declined, and he died in

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. ...

. His widow returned to Ireland, co-founded the

Missionary Sisters of St. Columban The Missionary Sisters of St. Columbanus, Columban (commonly referred to as the Columban Sisters, abbreviated as S.S.C.) are a religious institute of religious sisters dedicated to serve the poor and needy in the underdeveloped nations of the w ...

, and became a nun.

Publications

* "West African Fisheries, with Particular Reference to the Gold Coast Colony", Sir Cornelius Alfred Moloney, 1883, W. Clowes. * "Sketch of the Forestry of West Africa with Particular Reference to Its Present Principal Commercial Products", Sir Cornelius Alfred Moloney, 1887, S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington. * "From a Silver to a Gold Standard in British Honduras", an article from The North American Review, Volume 163. 1896. * "Preferential Tariff within the British Empire" is an article from The North American Review, Volume 187. 1908.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moloney, Cornelius Alfred Governors of Trinidad and Tobago Governors of the Gambia History of Lagos 1848 births 1913 deaths British expatriates in Nigeria British expatriates in the Gambia British expatriates in Trinidad and Tobago Governors of the Lagos Colony Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Governors of British Honduras Governors of the Windward Islands