Colonial Despatches

George Fowler Hastings was commander-in-chief of the Pacific station of the Royal Navy, located at Esquimalt, between 1866 and 1869.1 During his time in the Pacific, he commanded the flagship HMS Zealous.2

During Hastings’ tenure, colonial officials consulted with him on a number of incidents in the colony including an uprising in the Cariboo and anticipated attacks against the colony by the Fenians.3 Although he received many requests to provide assistance in the interior of the colony, the geographic inaccessibility of the area to marine troops meant that they were rarely able to respond.4

Hastings was born in 1814 to Hans Francis Hastings, 12th Earl of Huntingdon, and Frances Hastings.5 He entered the navy in 1824 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1833.6 His career consisted of a number of postings throughout Asia and the Mediterranean, as well as assignments to the coast guard and as the superintendent of Haslar Hospital and the Royal Clarence victualling yard.7 He was commander-in-chief of the Pacific from 1866-1869 and promoted to vice-admiral before assuming the role of commander-in-chief at The Nore on the Thames River until 1876.8 He died suddenly later that year.9

A number of places are named after Hastings, including Hastings Street in Vancouver, British Columbia.10

• 1. J. K. Laughton and Roger Morriss, Hastings, George Fowler, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• 2. Ibid.
• 3. Seymour to Buckingham, 4 September 1867, 10373, CO 60/29, p.2.; Romaine to Under-Secretary of State, 8 December 1868, 13555, CO 60/34, p. 64.
• 4. Buckingham & Chandos to Seymour, 24 February 1868, 9346, CO 398/5, p. 114.
• 5. J. K. Laughton and Roger Morriss, Hastings, George Fowler, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• 6. Peter Davis, George Fowler Hastings R.N., William Loney RN - Background.
• 7. J. K. Laughton and Roger Morriss, Hastings, George Fowler, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• 8. Peter Davis, George Fowler Hastings R.N., William Loney RN - Background.
• 9. J. K. Laughton and Roger Morriss, Hastings, George Fowler, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• 10. Tom Snyders & Jennifer O'Rourke, Namely Vancouver: The Hidden History of Vancouver Place Names (Vancouver, BC: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2001), 131.