Wymond Ogilvy Hamley (30 December 1818 – 14 January 1907) was an English-Canadian collector of customs and politician.

Biography

Hamley was born in

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, the third son of Vice Admiral William Hamley. R.N. He initially followed in his father's footsteps and briefly served 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 ...

, before retiring and joining the

Imperial Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

. He got appointed collector of customs for the

Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: * Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) * Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also * History of ...

through Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Hamley arrived at

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt () is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Jua ...

on 12 April 1859, aboard the ''Thames City''. His role as collector of customs lead to Governor James Douglas to appoint him as a member of the Colonial Assembly of British Columbia in 1864. In the united

, he was a member of the

Legislative Council of British Columbia The Legislative Council of British Columbia was created in 1867 for the governor of the "new" United Colony of British Columbia (which was the merger of the old colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia). The merged colony had not there ...

, a position he held until 1871, when the colony joined the confederation of Canada. He remained as collector of customs in

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

to 1868, when the relocation of the capital required him to move to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, but returned to the position after 1871. He retired after close to 30 years of service in December 1889. Hamley remained in Victoria until his death on 14 January 1907. He was close friends with Peter O'Reilly, who arrived in Esquimalt on the same day but on a different ship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamley, Wymond Ogilvy 1818 births 1907 deaths Members of the Colonial Assembly of British Columbia English emigrants to pre-Confederation British Columbia Politicians from Bodmin Members of the Legislative Council of British Columbia