Malcolm Struan Tonnochy ( Chinese: 杜老誌) (5 December 1841 – 14 December 1882) was an Indian colonial major official serving in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

and in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. He was acting

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the United Kingdom, British The Crown, Crown in British Hong Kong, Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executiv ...

in March 1882.

Early years

Tonnochy was born in Bengal, India in December 1841 to Thomas Tonnochy (a colonial collector in Bulundshahr) and Caroline Kemball. He was of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n extraction: his paternal grandfather was a

Scot Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (or ...

(

Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Gover ...

Sergeant Major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

Thomas Tonnochie) and his paternal grandmother, Catharine, was probably Indian. His maternal grandfather was a Conductor of Ordnance and maternal grandmother most likely Indian too. He was sent to England for education at

Blackheath Proprietary School The Blackheath Proprietary School was an educational establishment founded in 1830. In the 19th century, it had a profound influence on the game of football, in both Association and Rugby codes. In 1863, the school became one of the founders of T ...

followed by

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

Colonial Service in Hong Kong

It seems that Tonnochy did not complete his studies at Cambridge, choosing instead to try for a new cadetship in the

Civil Service, by competitive examination in 1862. In this he was successful, along with fellow candidates

Cecil Clementi Smith Sir Cecil Clementi Smith (23 December 1840 – 6 February 1916),. was a British colonial administrator of the Government, administrator. Background The son of an Essex rector, John Smith, and his wife Cecilia Susanna Clementi (daughter of Muz ...

and Walter Meredith Deane, the three of them comprising the first appointments on merit in a service that was beginning to modernise. Tonnochy worked his way up to hold many posts including Coroner, Assistant Harbour Master, Police Magistrate, acting Colonial Treasurer (when James Russell was absent), acting Colonial Secretary and as judge in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

's Vice Admiralty Court of Hong Kong from 1879 to 1882. From 1876 to 1882 he was Superintendent of Victoria Gaol (under

Hong Kong Police The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. Pursuant to the one c ...

1876-1879 and

Hong Kong Correctional Services The Correctional Services Department (CSD) is responsible for the management of prisoners and prisons in Hong Kong. The Commissioner of Correctional Services reports to the Secretary for Security. History Although the Chief Magistrate (now C ...

from 1879 to 1882). He was acting Administrator (i.e. Governor) for two short periods, in 1881 during the absence of Sir John Pope Hennessy in Peking, and in 1882 after Hennessy left office.Obituary: The London and China Telegraph, January 22, 1883, p74.

Death

Tonnochy was unmarried and died aged 41 after serving as acting Administrator of Hong Kong in early 1882. Tonnochy is buried at

Hong Kong Cemetery Hong Kong Cemetery, formerly Hong Kong (Happy Valley) Cemetery and before that Hong Kong Colonial Cemetery, is one of the early Christian cemeteries in Hong Kong dating to its colonial era beginning in 1845. It is located beside the racecour ...

Honours

Unlike most colonial officials in Hong Kong at the time, Tonnochy was never honoured with any titles. The only place that bears his name is Tonnochy Road in

Wan Chai Wan Chai (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 灣仔) is located in the western part of Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is bounded by Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal St ...

. Club Tonnochy and Tonnochy Night Club are named and located on the street named for him.

References

External links

Tonnochy
, width="30%" align="center", Preceded by:
Sir

John Pope Hennessy Sir John Pope Hennessy (; 8 August 1834 – 7 October 1891), was an Irish and British politician and colonial administrator who served as the eighth Governor of Hong Kong and the fifteenth Governor of Mauritius. Early life John Pope Henness ...

, width="40%" align="center",

(Administrator)
7–28 March 1882 , width="30%" align="center", Followed by:
Sir

William Henry Marsh Sir William Henry Marsh (1827–21 July 1906; Chinese Translated Name: 馬殊; 馬師 also infrequently used) was a British colonial administrator, who governed Hong Kong twice. The first tenure started in March 1882, and ended in March 188 ...