Torrens, Robert William
b. 1827(?)
d. 1887-04-25
Robert William Torrens served as Clerk of the House of Vancouver Island from 1863 to 1866.1 He spent nearly six years in the British Army and, although often referred to as Captain Torrens, was only a lieutenant when he sold his commission in 1851.2 He may have served as a Constable in Australia's Gold Escort Militia before travelling to British Columbia in 1859, where he organized an Expedition to prospect the N.W. Coast of British Columbia and the Queen Charlotte Islands.3 His report on the trip was well received by the colonial government, and an excerpt from it, forwarded by Governor Douglas, was printed by the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1860.4 Torrens lost his position when the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island were united in 1866. There was no place for him in the merged colony's administration so he was given free passage back to England.5 Unable to find employment with the Colonial Office, he became Chief Constable of Salford in 1869.6 In 1880, following allegations that he accepted bribes from police officers in return for promotion, and from criminals to condone offences, he resigned his post, citing health complications stemming from a broken wrist that he suffered while on duty in November 1879.7 He was given six months pay as severance.8 In November 1881 it was reported that he had been appointed chief commissioner of police on the Greek frontier of Turkey under Baker Pasha.9 Torrens died on 25 April 1887, at the age of 60.10
  • 1. Seymour to Carnarvon, 25 February 1867, CO 60:27, no. 3714, 291. B67037.html
  • 2. H. G. Hart, The New Annual Army List [1851] (London: John Murray, 1851), 206. http://n2t.net/ark:/13960/t6xx6k248; From the London Gazette, Sept. 2, Morning Post (London), 3 September 1851, 3; H. G. Hart, The New Annual Army List [1852] (London: John Murray, 1852), 206. http://n2t.net/ark:/13960/t4pm2j37d
  • 3. David Daniels, Watching and Policing in Manchester and Salford 1880-1900, (PhD diss., Manchester Metropolitan University, 2018), 320. http://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/621132; Torrens to Buckingham, 24 June 1867, CO 60:31, no. 7784, 358. B676T05.html
  • 4. Douglas to Newcastle, 13 February 1860, CO 305:14, no. 3601, 54. V60009.html; Dr. Norton Shaw, ed., Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London [vol. 4] (London, 1860), 226-228. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044019890599
  • 5. Seymour to Carnarvon, 25 February 1867, CO 60:27, no. 3714, 291. B67037.html
  • 6. Torrens to Granville, 21 May 1869, CO 60:37, no. 5809, 614. B696T01.html
  • 7. Police Scandal at Salford, Newcastle Weekly Chronicle, 10 January 1880, 8; The Late Chief Constable of Salford, Manchester Guardian, 27 January 1880, 8; Salford Town Council, Manchester Guardian, 5 February 1880, 6; Daniels, Watching and Policing, 50.
  • 8. Salford Town Council, Manchester Guardian, 5 February 1880, 6.
  • 9. The Late Chief Constable of Salford, Manchester Weekly Times, 13 November 1881, 5.
  • 10. Deaths, Daily News (London), 1 May 1887.
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Douglas, James

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Colonial Office

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British Columbia

Haida Gwaii

Vancouver Island