Colonial Despatches

William Henry Bevis was born in England and came to Vancouver Island in 1858. He had previously been a purser on steamships travelling between Panama, Lima, and Callao.1 Bevis was appointed revenue officer of Fort Langley in July 1858.2 In 1860 he was part of the Victoria Police Force for a short time.

He was appointed the first lighthouse keeper at Fisgard Lighthouse, Esquimalt, in 1861,3 and remained in that office until his death. In 1873 he compiled a meteorological report for 1872, which demonstrated Victoria's excellent climate.4 He died after a prolonged illness in August 1879, aged approximately 50.5

• 1. Death, The Daily Colonist, 7 August 1879, 3.
• 2. Douglas to Stanley, 26 July 1858, 9253, CO 305/9, 125.
• 3. Douglas to Pelham-Clinton, 8 February 1864, 2903, CO305/22, 8.
• 4. Meteorological Report, The Daily Colonist, 29 January 1873, 3.
• 5. Death, The Daily Colonist.