Colonial Despatches

Burlington (sometimes Burrington) Smith was a resident of Victoria, British Columbia, who lived on Government Street. In an 1858 memorial, Henry Hicks recommends Smith to fill the position of postmaster or collector of customs in Victoria. The signatures of eight fellow supporters backed this recommendation. In 1859, Smith still wished for employment with the government on Vancouver Island, but the government was unable to offer him a position.1

In 1858, Smith established the Victoria Family Grocery on Government Street, and also owned the Colonist building in Victoria. By 1864, Smith had secured enough money to retire to Bristol, England, where he became the American Vice-Consul for that city in 1881. Smith died in Bristol, England, on 21 January 1882.2

• 1. Allen to Lytton, 10 January 1859, 480, CO 305/13, 218.
• 2. Dorothy Blakey Smith, ed., The Journal of Arthur Thomas Bushby, 1858-1859, The British Columbia Historical Quarterly XXI (1957-1958): 194.