Staines, Reverend Robert John
b. 1820
d. 1854
Nephew of Boys. After graduating from Cambridge University in 1845, Robert John Staines taught in England, Ireland, and France. In March 1848, the Hudson's Bay Company appointed him both schoolmaster and chaplain for the Columbia District after he took orders. Staines arrived in Victoria in March 1849, began work, and acquired two parcels of land. In 1850, he opposed the nomination of Douglas to succeed Blanshard as governor. In 1853, he signed a petition to the House of Commons calling for an independent governor. Aware of criticism of Staines's duties as schoolmaster, Douglas gave him notice in February 1854 that his services would no longer be required. Staines quickly became the spokesperson of another group of colonists dissatisfied with the appointment of Douglas's brother-in-law, David Cameron, as acting chief justice. Dispatched to England with petitions, Staines drowned when his ship sank off Cape Flattery.
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