Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, Governor of South Australia

Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, Governor of South Australia 1881 by Saul Solomon (active 1857-1891) albumen silver photograph on cabinet card Purchased 2015 Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois (1821-1897), South Australian governor, attended the Royal Military Academy before being commissioned to the Royal Engineers in 1839. He occupied increasingly responsible positions in England and the colonies until by 1862, he was lieutenant-general and director of works for fortifications. In early 1875 Jervois (pronounced ‘Jarvis’) was appointed governor of the Straits Settlements in southeast Asia. Two years later, he was directed to survey the defences of Australia and New Zealand. In Melbourne in June 1877, he learned of his appointment to South Australia. Sworn-in in October, he set about reporting on the colony’s defences. He turned the sod of South Australia’s first tramway, opened new rail lines and laid the foundation stones of the University of Adelaide and of the new institute and art gallery; he chaired meetings of the Bible Society, the City Mission and other philanthropic institutions and lectured to raise funds for the Young Men’s Christian Association. He oversaw the construction of the new Houses of Parliament and promoted both horse-racing and Turkish bathing in Adelaide. In January 1883 Jervois left South Australia to take up the post of governor of New Zealand. Upon his departure he gave £100 toward the Anglican Cathedral. The Adelaide Register judged that he was ‘not only one of the ablest and most judicious but also one of the most deservedly popular of our Governors’.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015